Worship and Work

“and there was no man to cultivate the ground”  Genesis 2:5

Cultivate – You probably knew that work is divinely ordained.  God didn’t create the world in order to have a pristine paradise of perfect precision.  Paradise wasn’t lost when Man arrived.  It was completed.  Long before sin, Man had work to do.  God intended the world to be managed.  But the management of the world has a very special significance from God’s perspective.  It’s all about worship.

The Hebrew word abad and its derivatives occur more than 1000 times in the Old Testament.  In this word group are some very interesting derivations.  From abad comes ‘ebed (slave or servant) and aboda (labor and service).  The word for servant connects us with the idea of the suffering servant, the Messiah.  Jesus came to do the Father’s work – to serve the Father.  But here’s the best part.  The word for service is also a word for worship (Joshua 22:27).  When Man does work assigned by God and for God’s glory, work becomes worship.

This raises an important question in the life of the believer.  Paul instructs us to “work as unto the Lord”.  He sees that where God places you in life is an opportunity to serve through your work.  Since this is the reasonable thing to do, it is also worship.  To do the will of Father is to worship the Father.  Worship is not confined to Sunday morning nor is it limited to certain songs and prayers.  Doing what you do matters to God.  So, the question becomes:  Do I think of my work as worship?  Do I honor Him in what I do?  Do I fulfill His call to me in my work?  It doesn’t matter if you are delivering pizza or delivering the gospel, your work can be your worship.

These questions do not presume that you are practicing work-worship only when you are living out the purpose of your life.  God intends us to take care of His world and whenever and however we are doing that on His behalf is work-worship.  Today it might be the care you show at Home Depot.  Tomorrow it might be at the county jail.  There are many, many tasks in the management of God’s world and every one of them begins with honoring Him.

Are you practicing work-worship?