The Fallacy of Full-Time Christian Work by Os Hillman
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By Os Hillman
The Fallacy
of Full-Time Christian Work
by Os Hillman
"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." - Colossians 3:23-24
"I
didn't know you were in full-time Christian work," said my close friend as
we were driving. "I didn't realize that," she went on. I responded,
"Every person who has followed the will of God in their life is in
full-time Christian work." God calls some to the mission field, others to
be accountants, and others to be advertising executives, and still others to be
construction workers. God never made a distinction between sacred and secular.
In fact, the Hebrew word avodah is the root word having the same meaning of
"work" and "worship." God sees our work as worship.
We
have incorrectly elevated the role of the Christian worker to be more holy and
committed than the person who is serving in a more secular environment. Yet the
call to the secular workplace is as important as any other calling. God has to
have His people in every sphere of life. Otherwise, many would never come to
know Him because they would be separated from society.
I
learned this lesson personally when I sought to go into "full-time"
service as a pastor in my late twenties, only to have God thrust me back into
the business world unwillingly. This turned out to be the best thing He could
have done for me, because it was never His will for me to be a pastor. He knew
I was more suited for the workplace.
We
are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the
jungles of the workplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that
place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might
experience Him through you today and see your vocation as worship to His glory.
Os
Hillman
By permission only. To learn more about
Os Hillman, go to: www.marketplaceleaders.org.
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"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.'"(Josh 3:7-8). Joshua had been a faithful number two man under Moses for 40 years. Can you imagine serving one man for 40 years? Now that is faithfulness! Even so, when the time came to pass the mantel to Joshua, God knew he needed to be elevated in the eyes of the people in order for Joshua to accomplish his purpose. That is the purpose for elevation - so that you and I can fulfill our purpose and our mission.
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"Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband." Ruth 1:3-5 Naomi's life was going well. A great husband. Two fine sons who had two wonderful wives. Then the unthinkable happened. Her husband died. A little time later both her sons die. Her and her daughter-in-laws find themselves in the midst of shattered dreams. This isn't how life was supposed to be.
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"While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.'" Acts 10:19-20 Peter had never preached to the Gentiles. In fact, he believed it was against Jewish law to associate with the Gentiles. God needed to change Peter's attitude about this, so God gave Peter a vision that showed him it was permissible to preach to the Gentiles. The Spirit came to Peter and informed him that some men were about to come visit him, and he was to go with them. He went with them, and the Lord did great miracles in the lives of Gentiles through Peter.