Brian Castelli – With His Heart

I was very proud of myself for having constructed the argument in my previous post. I carefully laid out my argument for the guys in class, fully expecting to get the appreciation I deserve as a teacher! (That should have been a warning to me!)

Wrong! After I finished my exposition, Ron sat back and said, “Wait a minute. I think there’s an inconsistency there.” Ron went on to explain what he meant, and I was busted! Oops.

As you may recall, I was aiming for putting shoe leather on the following statement:

A job is holy when God assigns it, and he is present and actively involved in the work.

My “brilliant” argument was that this becomes real when we experience a confluence of God-given skill and God-given desire. Unfortunately, just down the page from the statement above was this statement:

Unless a job is immoral, unethical, or contrary to the will of God, it is holy if the worker shares a right relationship with God.

Although I believe my argument is partially right, or at least valid in some situations, I want to teach the complete truth. It is true that God often is in the assigning of a job when the God-given skill to accomplish it comes together with the God-given desire to accomplish it, but it is not required. If God is working in a thing, it is holy whether I participate or not. Whether I want to do it or not, whether I have the skill to do it or not, God in the work is what makes it holy, and the only way I can participate in it is if I am in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Apart from him I can do nothing. (John 15:5)

It’s really all about relationship. Even Ron admitted that his struggle over work issues from a week or so back came down to wanting things his way. He felt like things should go a certain way for him to be ministering to people. When he recognized that he was driving, he refocused on his relationship with Jesus Christ and came to some answers.

Thank you, Ron!

In the previous post, I offered that I was struggling with how to put shoe leather (make real) the following true statement from the Kingdom Agenda workbook:

A job is holy when God assigns it, and he is present and actively involved in the work.

With a little help from the Bible and a little help from authors John C. Maxwell and John Eldredge, I think I have an answer. It’s not a nice, neat answer, but it is an answer. The logic of it goes like this:

1. God is all about skill, and skill is meant for creating and building. For example, the NLT of the Bible renders Genesis 1:31a as “Then God looked over all he had made and saw that it was excellent in every way.” Excellent in every way! We can move through the Bible and see many examples of where God calls for people to exercise great skill. This is evident in the way the Tabernacle was constructed (Exodus 36:1), the way David chose people to serve (1 Chronicles 15:22), the skill of Solomon as a leader (2 Chronicles 2:12), and the way David was equipped for battle (Psalm 144:1). Jesus was noted to have skill, as well (Luke 2:40-52).
2. Skill is a natural extension of our spiritual relationship with God. In other words, we cannot settle for mediocrity in the work that we do and still work wholeheartedly for God. Our job title does not matter. We are called to excellence!
3. We are wonderfully made. In Psalm 139:13, David marvels at the way the spirit knit him together in the womb. Genesis 1:26 says that we’re made in God’s image. How then could the skills we use at work ever be considered less spiritual or less connected to the Holy Spirit than our spiritual gifts?
4. The conditions are met when our innate skill meets our passion. God equips us to fulfill a purpose. (Sometimes multiple purposes…) It doesn’t make sense that he wouldn’t then fill us with a desire to accomplish something with that skill. Eldredge says that if it’s in our hearts to build a boat and sail it, write a symphony and play it, or see a mountain and climb it, it’s a good bet that we have found what God has purposed for us.

So I believe that a job God assigns and participates with us in accomplishing is one where our passion and skill come together.

Please note two cautions about this answer:

• Determining the point at which passion and skill come together should be done as part of a relationship with Jesus. If you aren’t connecting with God on a regular basis, I think your results are less certain. It’s all about relationship. (See www.notreligion.com)
• Finding the point at which passion and skill come together does not preclude doing unpleasant things. That is, we are sometimes called to do things that we are well suited for but aren’t easy. I have a friend who works in a hospice group. She is well suited for the work and feels called to it, but the work is often physically and emotionally draining.

(Originally published in early 2007)

This week, the “Experiencing God in Your Workplace” meeting was very interesting. When we met, one of the participants (Ron) opened up by sharing some of his concerns about what it means to carry out a ministry in the workplace. Ron works in a technology environment, and he shared his frustration that “99% of the people there don’t care if I serve them or not!” That comment led to a long group discussion about what it means to serve or minister to people.

Ron is frustrated because he spends almost all of his time dealing with personnel issues, responding to employee complaints, and basically dealing with the problems a manager must face. He said that he finds it difficult to think of these kinds of activities as a ministry, and he’d rather be available to comfort and counsel. It was clear that Ron felt that to be an encourager to an employee going through a divorce is God service but that to deal with the administrivia of his position was not.

I think most of us feel the way Ron does. We have a natural human tendency to compartmentalize our lives. This is my work. This is my school. This is my family. This is my faith. It’s often difficult to see the hand of God at work in tough situations.

As we talked, Ron asked an interesting question: “What would Jesus have done if one of the 12 wasn’t pulling his own weight?” Ron recently had to fire someone who was not performing. The experience was very stressful for Ron. Ron found himself asking “What would Jesus do?” If you’re a Christian, is it okay to fire someone? Even after you’ve worked with the employee to correct the situation, been over the problems with him or her again and again. Is it ever okay for a Christian to fire someone?

If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t have any ready answers here. I have “Sunday School” answers that are true but ring hollow as I consider the gravity of Ron’s struggle. He’s trying hard to do the right thing, to follow Jesus as a man of faith and deep commitment. But he’s struggling with the situation he’s in.

In the study guide for our group, I came across the following text:

A job is holy when God assigns it, and he is present and actively involved in the work.

I think this is the crux of the problem Ron is dealing with. He’s in a work situation and can’t see God’s assignment, presence and activity. I believe that this text is correct, but the guide simple leaves it at that. It doesn’t give us a clue as to what this looks like. I want to know what this looks like in practical, real-world terms, and I’ve given myself a goal to get some answers for Ron and the rest of us.

Stay tuned.