A Biblical Theology of Work and Identity, Part 2
When it comes to work, ministry, missions, and calling, no
topic gets people sweating quite like wages and compensation.
All Christians are to have an occupation—a “calling” to work
in order to provide for their own physical needs, the needs of their families,
and the needs of society. There are no Christians who are called simply to a
life of contemplation or gentlemanly ease.
"For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you; we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10)
Those Christians who disobey this command are called
“irresponsible” (vv. 7, 11). They are shirking their God-given responsibilities.
We shouldn’t even associate with such people (v. 14).
There isn’t a class of Christians who are meant to avoid
work while living off he gifts of others. That’s not how God intended the
church to function. Instead, everyone is to work and contribute as they are
able.
The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy
of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching
and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading
out the grain, and, the worker is worthy of his wages. (1 Timothy
5:17-18)
Good leaders in the church are worthy of earning their
livelihood by means of their hard work in the ministry. We can clearly see
examples in the New Testament of Paul accepting that honor, but also sometimes
refusing it in order to make a point (1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:12).
What this passage does not teach is that there is a special,
exalted status to those who engage in spiritual work. In fact, we see just the
opposite. Paul describes what people commonly refer to as “full-time vocational
ministry” and he compares it to an ox treading out the grain in order to
convince people that it is worthy of payment. Rather than putting ministry in a
special vocational category, he puts it in the common category of work to show
that it is worthy of wages just like any other occupation.
Why?
SPIRITUAL WORK IS
STILL WORK
When done correctly, leading, preaching, and teaching are
all forms of labor. Notice how these good leaders are to “work hard” at it.
It’s not simply a life of contemplation; it’s genuinely taxing. It is compared
to an ox treading grain; does that sound easy? Ministry can be rewarding too,
of course—but look again at Acts 6:2.
And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and
said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to
serve tables. (Acts 6:2 ESV)
Are the apostles seeking to avoid work in this passage?
Certainly not. But they are realizing that there are two necessary jobs that
need to be accomplished in the church ministry: serving tables and preaching
the word. And the apostles could see that they, personally, couldn’t adequately
do both at the same time. It wouldn’t be right for them to spend all their time
serving food because preaching was also a necessary task for them to
accomplish.
Does this mean an apostle would never serve food to anyone
ever again? I doubt it. But they made sure that they won’t have to “give up
preaching” by doing other necessary tasks.
Does this passage speak of a special calling on a person’s
life to a particular vocation? No. Would this mean that certain leaders in the
church would never serve food and that other would only ever serve food?
Certainly not. They didn’t say, “I can’t serve food because I’m an apostle.”
That would be an argument based on identity or class system. They reasoned that
they couldn’t serve food because that would detract from other necessary works.
NO SUPER-CHRISTIANS
In sum, a person’s work—whether sacred or “secular”—doesn’t
define their identity. Our identity is defined in Christ, as we are a new
creation in him (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17), not by the specific tasks we perform
in his service. As a result, there is no exalted, spiritual class of Christians
that are exempt from the ordinary biblical commands governing work and
compensation.
In the next installment, we will see how the Bible uses the
terms calling and vocation to refer to far more than just one’s day job.