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How and Why We Work – A Biblical Perspective on Career Planning

Becky Preble

Texas Home School Coalition Association REVIEW © May 2000

In the past I have written about how to help high school- and college-aged students develop a career/life plan that matches their interests and God-given natural talents. In my first article, I explained that many high school students are confused about what to do after graduation, so they simply decide to pursue a career path that fits their interests at the time. Because their interests are constantly changing, they may want to be a doctor one day, an airline pilot the next, an accountant, a forest ranger, and so on. While interests should be considered in determining a broad career field to investigate, it is your teen’s God-given natural talents that should be carefully analyzed when deciding on a specific occupation. My second article addressed how to observe and evaluate your teens’ most enjoyable activities in order to uncover their natural talents. This article will address how important it is for families to examine what kind of work and career/life planning values they are passing on to the next generation. As your teen enters the world of college and/or work, what are the values and beliefs he/she has about work and career? Are these values reflective of biblical virtues, and will these values produce in your teen the character qualities of a Christian worker?

Throughout the New Testament, there are teachings regarding how one should work in the master/slave relationship; Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, 1 Timothy 6:1, Titus 2:9 and 1 Peter 2:18 are a few examples. If you take these scriptures and substitute the word employer or supervisor for master, and the word employee for slave, you will see that the Bible has a lot to say about how we are to conduct ourselves in our work relationships. The character qualities identified in scripture that a worker is called to exhibit include respect and submission to authority, sincerity, working with a desire to please, working without complaining, obedience, and patience. In Colossians 3:23 we read, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord--not for men--since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” In all of the aforementioned scriptures, it is important to note that we are to demonstrate the character qualities of Christ in all work situations regardless of whether or not we like our job or boss. In fact, 1 Peter 2:18 says to submit and show respect to your master (supervisor)--even if he/she is harsh. 

As we send our teens out into the world of college and/or work, we need to ask if they understand that the way they work can bring glory to God. It is important to note that the scriptures say we are to exhibit such Christian virtues as respect for and submission to our supervisor (master) so that God’s name will not be slandered. If Christians obeyed the biblical teaching to work at whatever you do with all your heart as working for the Lord, can you imagine the impact we would have on college campuses and in the work place? One of the first things I ask the teens in my career planning seminars is, “Do you exhibit the Christian virtues in all your work–from your job at the grocery store to your volunteer work and in your current work as a student?” Even your child’s current jobs, like mowing the yard, feeding the dog, babysitting, etc., can serve as training grounds for developing the character qualities of a Christian worker.

One teacher I know wrote all the scriptural references I listed above on a chart, and beside each scripture, she wrote out the Christian virtues that would be evidenced if a person worked as commanded. She identified the following work habits or virtues: respect for authority, sincerity, working with the desire to please, no talking back to your supervisor (in this case, the teacher), and working without complaining. She explained to her students that her classroom was a training ground to prepare them for work. She wanted her students to arrive in the workplace ready to honor God through the way they worked. Therefore, in her classroom, the students would be graded on how they worked. If she gave an assignment and they complained or did not work with a desire to please, she reminded them of the scriptures that call Christian workers to a higher standard. 

In addition to teaching our children the biblical perspective on how we should work, we must also help our children understand why we work. When we look into the why of something, we should pay careful attention to the foundational beliefs or motives upon which the why is built or by which it is driven. For example, one of the most popular foundational beliefs behind today’s career planning advice is that career/work is a means to self-fulfillment. In other words, some people believe that if they just had the right job, they would be happy and their lives would have meaning and purpose. Many people look to their work to provide something that work was never designed to provide. We should not look to work to furnish something or to fill a void that only Jesus Christ can fill.

The most quoted motive or reason for why we work that I hear from the teenagers in my career planning seminars is that we work to achieve wealth, security, and/or power. Again, this is not a biblical perspective on work. If Christian teens enter the workforce with these motives, they will soon be serving the idols of careerism and materialism.

So what is a biblical perspective on why we work? What are the values and virtues that you want your teenager to carry into the world of college and work? First of all, we must see that God is identified in the book of Genesis as a creator/worker. He even rests from His work of creating on the seventh day and commands us to do the same. (An interesting side note: if you want to know what you really believe about the importance and place of work in your life, ask yourself how often you truly rest).

After God’s work of creating is finished, we see that He places Adam (more of His creating power manifested) in a garden that is already completed and asks Adam to join into a work in progress. Adam’s job is to manage and tend the garden; he is to co-labor with God in the work that God planned in advance for him to do. In this picture of work, we see that God, not man, remains at the center. Yet, too many of today’s career counselors want to put man at the center of work, and even teach that man can find his fulfillment and destiny through the “right” job.

Pass this truth on to your teenagers: Work is an opportunity to use the talents and abilities God has given us to co-labor with Him in the ongoing management of His creation as we serve Him and others. God does not need us to manage and tend to His creation--He could have managed just fine without us. Instead He designed this world and gave each of us the talents and abilities to do certain things well. He also provides seasons throughout our lives when our work will change. All vocational callings--from homemaking, accounting, farming, to engineering--are occasions to glorify God. What a glorious opportunity it is to serve through our work!

Meet the author, Becky Preble. 

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