All work is noble, but…

“All work is noble, but some work is more noble than others.” —Maximus.

I was in a church conference, sitting on the end seat in the middle isle, waiting for the session to begin. One of the speakers was making his way down the aisle, shaking hands with people and engaging in brief conversations. 

When he shook my hand, we had a brief exchange and I told him I was praying to retire from IT so I could devote my time to the kingdom. His reply was, “Why don’t you bring the kingdom to IT?” I nodded slowly to show I understood his remark. He quickly added, “Sorry to mess up your theology,” and then turned the conversation to something more appropriate given the moment. 

Later on, I realized I did not have a ready answer to his point. I too embraced the theological principle which spawned his remark, and I hadn’t really evaluated the desire to exit my career in light of that principle. I needed to do this. 

There was a time when we—the Church—considered people “in the ministry” as those who were employed as full-time pastors, teachers, missionaries, and such. Those people were doing kingdom work. The rest of us labored at jobs or businesses to support our families. Sometimes people would quit their jobs to go to bible school so they could work in full-time ministry. It was a mindset where we separated the sacred from the secular. 

Then we realized that there was no such distinction, that all work is blessed and ordained by God, who’s kingdom encompasses all things. He is Lord of all, not just the church. He wants his kingdom to permeate human economics and education and business and whatever endeavor we set our hands to do. 

Discerning the value of work

One of the assumptions of our theology here is that all work has the same value, the same effectiveness, the same importance to God’s kingdom. But if we look at scripture, we see this is not really the case.

• When Jesus came to visit, Mary chose the good part. Martha chose to make sandwiches. Some work is better than other work.
• Speaking in tongues is good, because you edify yourself. But it is better to prophesy so that you edify others. Some work is preferred over other work.
• A man sowed seeds on good soil. His work yielded 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown. Some work yields more returns than other work.

All work yields a return. Some work yields a better quality of return, and some work yields a better quantity of return. The point is to choose that which yields a better return, both in quality and quantity. 

Paul made tents to meet his physical expenses. Tent-making is noble work. But it wasn’t his calling. Peter and John caught fish for a living. It was noble work that fed the community. And yet they walked away from it right at the moment of a financial increase. All work is good, but some work is better.

But we don’t like to say this, as it might make others uncomfortable in the work they’re currently doing. And so it’s not uncommon to hear a conversation go something like this: 

Jack: I want to do something more significant with my life. I want to work full-time for the kingdom. So I’m thinking about going to Bible-school.

Steve: You are already working full-time for the kingdom! God put you in your career field so why don’t you focus on bringing the kingdom to your workplace?

This is essentially the type of conversation that played out at the conference. In this scenario, Steve has a correct theological construct in general principle but not in specific application. Steve correctly focuses on bringing the kingdom to Jack’s work. But he’s forgotten to involve the King of the kingdom. 

Involving the King

The kingdom is an expression of the King, and the King is a person who is actively and relationally involved in that expression. In this scenario, Jesus is relationally connected to Jack and has things to say about the man’s involvement in the kingdom. 

What’s missing are questions like: What is Jesus saying to you? And, What is he calling you to do? If we don’t ask these questions, then we reveal our underlying assumption about the King. To put it bluntly we’re saying, God really doesn’t have much to say to you about your specific work, so just stick with what you know. Ouch. Sounds like we are on our own. God is busy about his kingdom, so pick something to help him out. The king doesn’t really care so long as you have the right attitude, working “as unto the Lord.”

Is this really Jesus’ posture toward us? Is this his heart? If I meet Jesus face to face, would he shrug his shoulders and say, “just pick something?”

Involving the King’s partner

Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father. He would not say such a thing, nor would his Father. God would not tell an angel—one of his servants—to just pick something to do. He would specifically instruct them. And if Father is particular about what one of his servants do, how much more involved will he be with his son or daughter? 

Father’s eye is not on his fields as if to recruit laborers to fill them. His eye is on his sons and daughters. He did not send Jesus to get more workers. He sent Jesus to get sons and daughters. This distinction makes all the difference.

So in addition to asking the King what he desires for his son or daughter, the next question is: what is on the son’s heart? What is it the daughter wants to do for the King? Or a better question: how does the daughter want to partner with her Father to extend the family kingdom? For the Father’s kingdom is the daughter’s kingdom. As co-heir with Jesus, the kingdom is hers as well. It’s the family business. 

The point here is that Father is very interested to hear what’s on his daughter’s heart, what she wants to do. He’s all about mentoring her dreams to align with his, and then empowering her to fulfill her dreams. 

Answering the question

I feel like I can now revisit my exchange at the conference, and to the fictitious conversation between Jack and Steve. Jack now has a reply for Steve’s question.

Steve: Why don’t you bring the kingdom to your career field?

Jack: Because the King is inviting me to do something different, and I desire it as well.