This is the third of four articles on a Framework for life. It was written with new house officers in mind.
The third component for a framework for life is work. God gave the mandate to humankind to care for His creation.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26 NIV)
The creation of humankind is intertwined with his/her commissioning. We were created so that we could oversee the rest of God’s creation on His behalf and for that to happen, God needs all sorts of people doing all sorts of work. As stewards of creation, we were created to co-labour with God.
House officers shouldn’t need to be reminded of the third C — co-labour. For most who make the transition from tertiary education to working life, work is the main reality they face. It will consume most of their energy and time. The work of house officers has a particularly steep learning curve. They don’t have to be reminded of the importance of work. But they need to be reminded of why they work. They must remember that their work must flow out of their relationship with God.
Paul in this passage is talking about slaves in New Testament times but there are principles here that apply to the world of work:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23–24 NIV)
There is no need to remind fresh graduates, including house officers, that work is important. But for work to bring meaning to life, and to be a part of human flourishing, we need to understand the meaning of work.
The Genesis passage gives our work divine meaning. When we work we allow God to work through us. For example, God is a healer. He can heal directly and dramatically. But often He chooses to heal through His chosen representatives, doctors. Whatever legitimate profession we pursue, we are agents of God and God works through us. Therefore work is so much more than just making a living, or a source of our self-worth. It is allowing God to touch lives through us.
The Colossians passage teaches us that when we work we must do it with all our hearts because, while we may have human bosses, ultimately we are working for the Lord. But God is no slave master. So, while we must work hard, our ultimate boss wants us to work with a work-sabbath rhythm, something we will explore in the next column.
House officers, like all fresh graduates, will discover that the world of work is not always fair. We will encounter bad bosses and bad colleagues. Our good work may go unnoticed. We may be chided excessively for our mistakes. Earthly bosses may let us down. But God has promised that He will give us an inheritance for our work. In the long run our Boss will not let us down. This helps us to press on when the going gets tough.
The Lordship of God over our work also means we can trust Him and ask Him for guidance when we face career choices. We can be free of making choices purely for the sake of money or prestige. We also have the benefit of the Christian community when we need wisdom in our work. We see that all the facets of the Life Framework are intertwined, how co-labour is linked to communion and community.
I really like how the late John Stott defines work:
Work is the expenditure of energy (manual or mental or both) in the service of others, which brings fulfilment to the worker, benefit to the community, and glory to God. (1)
Note that the definition is not linked to a paid job. We can be retired from a paid position and still be working. In fact, we should because doing meaningful work is a key part of being human.
There is one “job” that all Christians have to do — to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. This applies to medical house officers as well. This includes sharing the gospel sensitively and humbly when God gives the opening. When we practice medicine with competence and compassion, for example, we help to flesh out the values of the Jesus we want people to follow.
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(1) John Stott, Issues Facing Christians Today, 173.