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That it may please thee to inspire us, in our several callings, to do the work which thou givest us to do with singleness of heart as thy servants, and for the common good, We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to preserve all who are in danger by reason of their labor or their travel, We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Genesis 2:15 (AMPC) And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (AMPC) Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

Psalm 90:12-17 (The Message) Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well. Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—and treat your servants with kindness for a change. Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day long. Make up for the bad times with some good times; we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at— the ways you rule and bless your children. And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

“What kind of work do you do ? “ That is the question is it not ? I have been asked that question more than any other all my life. I have also asked it a few thousand times as well. It is a probing question, for when we get the answer we automatically categorize that person or we get labeled as well. We define others or get defined by them. We then can make assumptions (often wrongly) about their wealth, education, social status, whether they would be “interesting” or “worth our time” to get to know them better. I mean it is not fair, but we all are conditioned to ask and answer that question.

Surprisingly, God never asked that question. Of course He already knows, but it doesn’t matter to Him what we have worked at, where we went to school, what political party we belong to (such a scandal that He doesn’t), or even what we have done. Nope, He is more interested in what we are going to do once we get to know Him, and further, what wonderful things He can do for us. What He does with our work and vocation is not to always change it, but He redeems it and us. In Christ I am no longer just a plumber, a teacher or a file clerk, I am a redeemed one, and that changes everything.

I learned this from my father, who worked for Southern Railway (the good one, which kept their trains on the tracks). He repaired brakes, and as far as I know, none of his fixed brakes ever failed. His collar was as blue as you could find, his union loyalties were solid and he worked hard and faithful until his passing. He also knew Jesus, and thus he was a “redeemed” brakeman.

At some point in his career my father decided that the local Railroad Union needed a chaplain, and he had himself appointed. It added nothing to his pay, but often after work he attended funerals, prayed with men at hospitals, took up collections and food for the injured and banned the lewd calendars you often find in such workshops. He was not trained in chaplain work, had no degrees in counseling, no formal studies in theology, he just loved Jesus, and that flowed out of him.

I had very little inkling of this part of his life, I was more familiar with his work in the church and all the things he did there. However, at his funeral, the time for receiving of friends took several hours because all 500 men he worked with came, lined up, paid their respects and offered their comfort, love and prayers to our family for this one redeemed brakeman. I have never seen so many grown men cry.

You see, God doesn’t care what your vocation is, as long as it is honest and redeemed. For then, your work is not drudgery, mundane or meaningless. In the hands of God, whether you are fixing broken brakes or broken bones, your work becomes a ministry and always will be.

Peace. Phil Parsons

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From Rodger:

This song by Doen Moen says it far better than anything I could add: