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Study guide · Christian Living & Suffering

Does Your Everyday Work Matter to God?

Reviewed by Jude 3 Project·3 min read

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A standalone study on seeing ordinary work as worship rather than as a necessary evil.

The big question

Many of us carry quiet assumptions about work: that it is a necessary evil, that it is mostly about the money, or that it is where we prove our worth. Scripture tells a different story. God is the first worker in the Bible, and he made people to keep working after him. This study asks a simple question with deep roots: does your everyday job matter to God, and how would your Monday change if you believed it did?

Key takeaways

  • Work is not a punishment. God gave it before the fall, so work itself is good.
  • God is the first worker in Scripture, and he made us in his image to continue his creative work.
  • There is no sacred-secular divide. God is Lord of Monday as much as Sunday.
  • Every honest job serves other people, which is one way we love our neighbor.
  • You glorify God by doing your work well and for others, whatever the job is.

Scripture to sit with

Genesis 1:26-28. God makes humanity in his image and gives them work to do. We image a working God by working.

Genesis 2:15. God places the man in the garden to work it and keep it. Labor is part of the original good.

Ephesians 4:11-12. Leaders equip the saints for the work of service. Ordinary work is the service, not a lesser thing.

Colossians 3:23. Work heartily, as for the Lord. The audience for your work is finally God.

Quotes worth discussing

Strickland says, “Some of the most successful people I know are the most miserable.”

On Scripture’s first picture of God, Strickland says, “In the biblical narrative, we first are introduced to God as a worker.”

Strickland says, “God left creation intentionally unfinished.”

His closing charge: “Let’s work as worship to God’s glory, because God is lord over it all.”

Discussion questions

  • Which of the three misunderstandings of work is closest to how you actually feel on a Monday?
  • Where have you drawn a line between sacred and secular in your own week, and what would it look like to erase it?
  • If God left creation unfinished for people to keep building, how does your job continue that work?
  • Whose life is quietly served by the work you do? Name two or three people.
  • What is one part of your job you could do this week as worship rather than as a chore?

Go deeper

This study comes from the Jude 3 Project’s Christ at Work webinar, where theologian Walter Strickland opened, followed by executive Travis Williams and HR practitioner Robbin Frazier, hosted by Lisa Fields. For a related conversation, see How Do You Live Out Your Faith at Work.

A closing reflection

Choose one task this week that you usually rush through. Do it slowly and well, as if God were your employer, because in a real sense he is. Notice what changes in you when the work is offered up rather than just gotten through.

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