Working God’s Field (3)

For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 1 Corinthians 4.7

Getting some handles on work
It will help us in working our part of the field of the world – our Personal Mission Field – if we can reduce our work to some basic tasks or responsibilities, which we can improve over time as we labor faithfully, doing the Lord’s work in our own. The work we’ve been given to do is greater than the job at which we work, and all our work matters to God, Who has called us to His Kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2.12).

Since we have been created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2.8-10), work is a responsibility and calling for all the people of God. In a very real sense, our discipleship is defined by the work we do and the fruit we bear in that work (Jn. 15.1-8, 16). Jesus has encouraged us in this, by promising that we will do even greater works than He did, because of the power of His Spirit at work within us (Jn. 14.12; Phil. 2.13).

Christ died and rose again to make us a people zealous for good works (Tit. 2.14). We must look to the Scripture to equip us for every good work (2 Tim. 3.15-17), so that we will be ready for every opportunity to do good work as these come to us day by day (Tit. 3.1). We must be careful to maintain good works, and not grow weary in them, since by our work we engage God’s work in the field of the world, and glorify Him (Tit. 3.8, 14; Gal. 6.9; Matt. 5.13-16).

Thus a stewardship has been entrusted to us – of time, skills, relationships, roles, and responsibilities. We must work always to make the best use of the time entrusted to us (Eph. 5.15-17; Ps. 90.12, 16, 17), to develop and employ all the gifts and other resources we have received from God (2 Tim. 1.6), and to strive always to bring glory to God in all our work, not just our jobs (1 Cor. 10.31).

Let’s look more closely at what this stewardship entails.

Gifts and talents
Scripture teaches that every good and perfect gift comes down to us from our heavenly Father, out of the sheer enormity of His love for us, and the delight He takes in lavishing us with good things (Jms. 1.17). All that we have received is from God, and comes to us as a trust. These good gifts are given to aid us in our work, which is itself a gift of God, as we have seen.

God has given us these many excellent gifts to help us in doing our work, and we are called to be good stewards over them all, using them, in some way, to boast about and honor the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Exercising good stewardship over all the gifts God has given us, and making good use of them, takes time, energy, and care – in other words, work. A work of stewardship is entrusted to us with respect to all the good gifts we receive from the Lord. Like the talents in Jesus’ parable, God gives us good and perfect gifts so that we will work hard to use them in bringing honor and glory to His Name (Matt. 25.14-30; Jn. 17.4).

So what’s included in this work of stewardship?

A stewardship catalog
Well, first of all, our bodies and the health in which we must preserve them. God is not indifferent to things like what we eat and drink, and how. Indeed, we have a specific instruction from the Apostle Paul to use our food and drink as ways of glorifying God (1 Cor. 10.31). We must care for our bodies, seeking always to maximize their readiness for doing good work. The same is true of our souls, and we’ll have more to say about this anon.

Next, our material possessions – our home and cars (change that oil every 3,000 miles?), clothes, tools, personal items, computers, televisions, and on and on. God allows us to have these things, and He is not indifferent concerning how we are to use them, or the manner in which we care for them. All these material possessions are but tools and aids to help us in attending to our Personal Mission Field. We must make the most of them to that end.

For example, I have a book in my library entitled, House as a Mirror of Self. The author argues that everything about our homes has meaning, and says something about who we are and what’s important to us. What does the décor of your house say about your ultimate convictions? The books on your shelves? The use you make of the television? How you keep your yard? The way you use your home to serve others?

Beyond this we have a stewardship of wealth – the money we make. Do we honor the Lord with our money by giving our tithes and offerings, laying up for the future, and refusing to cast the “pearls” of our paycheck before the “swine” paraded before us by advertisers?

We could say much more. However, it should be evident from just these few remarks that we need to take up the work of stewardship as seriously in every area of our lives as we do on our jobs, for in each case the potential for doing good to others and bringing glory to God is real and great. The work we’ve been given to do in sowing the field of this world is greater than the job at which we work. We know we are accountable on our jobs to do good work. The same is true with all the work we’ve been given to do, and all the resources, skills, and time available to us for doing our work.

We are stewards of everything God gives us, that we might join Him moment by moment as He works to prepare in the field of the world, a harvest for His glory.

For reflection
1.  What would you say are the key components of being a good steward in any area of life?

2.  Why do we say that the work we’ve been given to do is greater than the job at which we work?

3.  What are some things you could do to be a better steward of your time?

Next steps – Transformation: Take a look at how you use your time each day. Are you making the most of the time God gives you for working your Personal Mission Field? What’s one thing you could begin doing that would improve your stewardship in this area?

T. M. Moore

For a more developed view of the Kingdom, and of the Gospel of the Kingdom, order a copy of our book The Kingdom Turn (click here) or The Gospel of the Kingdom (click here). You can download a free PDF of Vocational Disciplines, a complement to this week’s study (click here).

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.