?Your Jobs?: lawns, 7-11, longshore, hotels, newspapers, churches, ministries, writing/spkng
= Your view of God determines your view of everyone/everything else
- Marxist Atheism – no God, utopia = we make our own heaven, hardship/struggle is because of oppression/injustice, & gov’t replaces God to redistribute wealth (wokeism)
- Greeks – dualistic = despised physical working/labor. Goal = poor/slaves do all the work so you could study philosophy, read classics, enjoy music & art (college model)
- Catholics – priestly ideal chastity & poverty, no ambition, life of contemplation not action
= Most healthy men are repelled from leadership
- Protestant Work Ethic – (all work, paid & unpaid)
Democracy in America. French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) attributed American Capitalistic success to religious commitments: A. Work B. Stewardship C. Family. Worried a “taste for physical gratification” that citizens would be “carried away, and lose all self-restraint.” = undermining both democracy and prosperity.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. 75 yrs later, German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) coined “Protestant ethic” as key to success citizens/immigrants (American Dream)
- Protestants worked hard/honest 6 days
- Protestant parents gave their children chores
God worked 6 days a week, and rested 1 day a week.
- Bible opens, “in the beginning God created”
- Same word for human work, trades, building, labor = work
God made men to work, even though work is now cursed
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over…the earth.”
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man & put him in the garden of Eden to work…
Genesis 3:17–19 And to Adam he said…cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth…By the sweat of your face you shall eat…”
=The easy path & shortcut always winds up in a dead end
Jesus worked, and we work for Jesus
John 5:17, 36 Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”…the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, [are] the very works that I am doing…
Colossians 3:23–25 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Ephesians 2:10 we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
- It’s not what you are doing, but who you are doing it for!
- Jesus spent 90% His life doing labor
Work to care for yourself
2 Thessalonians 3:10–12 we…give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
- Proverbs 1 chapter a day. Work & Wealth themes. Look for SLUGGARD
Work to care for your family
1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
- My dad growing up
- Recent discussion w/Grace around age 45
Work will continue in the Kingdom
Revelation 5:10 you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
- Heaven series – A. resurrected bodies B. renewed earth
- God does not deviate from His original, perfect, Divine Design
Closing thoughts on work as worship
- Education is broken. We are preparing victims and voters, not workers and worshippers.
- Young men are wasting their energy on fake reality and dumb dominion (video games, metaverse, joke jobs).
- Young men are like trucks and drive straighter with a load.
- There is something profoundly satisfying and masculine about working hard to bless women and children starting at your house.
EOS Life –
- What you love 2. w/people love 3. Making difference
- Adequately compensated 5. time for people/things beyond work
= freedom & finance balance
Act Like a Man: Real Men 101
- MAN: Own Your Identity
- SON: Worship Your Father
- SAGE: Learn Your Lessons
- WORKER: Do Your Job
- ARTIST: Create Culture
- STEWARD: Build His Kingdom
- HUSBAND: Love Your Princess
- FATHER: Leave Your Legacy
- WARRIOR: Slay the Dragon w/guest John Lovell Warrior Poet Society
PRAY
Discussion questions
- What jobs have you previously held?
- What is the current work God has given you?
- Who is depending upon you to get your work done?
- How can we pray for you?