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#132 Work as Recreation
#132 Work as Recreation
In the Christian Worldview, work is performed to restore the world to God’s creational intent. Thus, our work is recreation.
The Great Resignation is the term describing why people are not returning to work after the COVID-19 pandemic. Is work good or bad? Why work?
I was struggling to come up with a simple question to ask my Economics students for them to earn a few points for arriving on time to our 8:00 AM class. I spontaneously announced, “Write four answers to the question, “Why I work.” The subject for the day was unemployment. Some of the best answers were:
Why I Work
DBU Students
To pay for…
31
To learn skills
31
To make money
18
To serve others
10
To please God
12
Something to do
12
To help the economy
5
Achievement
4
It is our cultural mandate from Genesis.
Working enables humans to learn disciplines of this life.
It is what God created me to do.
And, man was created to work to magnify God.
The next week, I was guest lecturing at a state University, and asked the same question. The results are fascinating. The Christian and secular students agreed about the first three answers: “To pay for things, learn skills and to make money.” The diversion in answers between the Christian and secular students that follows is quite obvious:
Why I Work
DBU Students
University Students
To pay for…
31
32
To learn skills
31
14
To make money
18
12
To serve others
10
0
To please God
12
0
Something to do
12
10
To help the economy
5
0
Achievement
4
12
Independence
0
7
To help my family
0
6
While the Christian students cited “To serve others,” and “To please God,” the secular students wrote about achievement and independence. Notice that the Christian answers about serving others and pleasing God are about someone else, while the secular answers about achievement and independence are about the student. So those answers could be summed up by noticing WHO work is for.
The second observation is that the Christian students see work as an end in itself, with answers like “Because God commands it.” The secular students saw work as a means to an end. Notice, they want to help others with the money they earn from work, but they see work as a means to earning money, THEN that money is used to help others.
So the Christian students see work as an end that serves others. Secular students see work as a means that mostly serves themselves. It’s also worth noting that the secular students gained image from their work, with answers like achievement and independence. Those are not necessarily goods that are earned, they are feelings of self-image. That’s a dangerous track. People who are working to satisfy their own image will never earn it. There will always be someone who achieves more, and who is more independent. It’s a fool’s errand that can never be accomplished. And it’s certainly not Biblical. God wants us to gain our self-image from the imago dei, being made in the image of God.
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By The Christian Economist | Dave Arnott
4.9
7373 ratings
#132 Work as Recreation
In the Christian Worldview, work is performed to restore the world to God’s creational intent. Thus, our work is recreation.
The Great Resignation is the term describing why people are not returning to work after the COVID-19 pandemic. Is work good or bad? Why work?
I was struggling to come up with a simple question to ask my Economics students for them to earn a few points for arriving on time to our 8:00 AM class. I spontaneously announced, “Write four answers to the question, “Why I work.” The subject for the day was unemployment. Some of the best answers were:
Why I Work
DBU Students
To pay for…
31
To learn skills
31
To make money
18
To serve others
10
To please God
12
Something to do
12
To help the economy
5
Achievement
4
It is our cultural mandate from Genesis.
Working enables humans to learn disciplines of this life.
It is what God created me to do.
And, man was created to work to magnify God.
The next week, I was guest lecturing at a state University, and asked the same question. The results are fascinating. The Christian and secular students agreed about the first three answers: “To pay for things, learn skills and to make money.” The diversion in answers between the Christian and secular students that follows is quite obvious:
Why I Work
DBU Students
University Students
To pay for…
31
32
To learn skills
31
14
To make money
18
12
To serve others
10
0
To please God
12
0
Something to do
12
10
To help the economy
5
0
Achievement
4
12
Independence
0
7
To help my family
0
6
While the Christian students cited “To serve others,” and “To please God,” the secular students wrote about achievement and independence. Notice that the Christian answers about serving others and pleasing God are about someone else, while the secular answers about achievement and independence are about the student. So those answers could be summed up by noticing WHO work is for.
The second observation is that the Christian students see work as an end in itself, with answers like “Because God commands it.” The secular students saw work as a means to an end. Notice, they want to help others with the money they earn from work, but they see work as a means to earning money, THEN that money is used to help others.
So the Christian students see work as an end that serves others. Secular students see work as a means that mostly serves themselves. It’s also worth noting that the secular students gained image from their work, with answers like achievement and independence. Those are not necessarily goods that are earned, they are feelings of self-image. That’s a dangerous track. People who are working to satisfy their own image will never earn it. There will always be someone who achieves more, and who is more independent. It’s a fool’s errand that can never be accomplished. And it’s certainly not Biblical. God wants us to gain our self-image from the imago dei, being made in the image of God.