Pie Buddy: Lawson Hannaford
Topic: Work & Christianity
Tonight’s venue was my second of Adelaide’s three 24-hour
bakeries. My pie partner was Lawson, and we got chatting about a Christian
perspective on work. Lawson currently works as a landscaper, and also ministers
in a church that he began with his father-in-law a couple of years ago, so he
has good insight into both secular and church work. At the time of our chat he
was reading Every Good Endeavour by
Tim Keller, a book about serving God through secular work, which got us on to
the topic.
The Villis café, located just off South Road at Mile End,
has a decent amount of seating both indoors and outdoors (although it’s a
little cramped) and a solid range of Villis products on the menu, as well as
milkshakes, ice cream and a whole lot of other stuff. My pie and donut both hit
the spot nicely, although it’s nothing spectacular – pretty much the same as a
Villis pie and donut that you could buy at Foodland, just a bit fresher. Lawson
gets a pie floater, which looks outstanding, and makes it disappear in quick
time. The food gets brought out to us on plates, which adds a bit of class to
this place. I’m fairly confident I’ll be back here again one day (or night).
We begin by chatting about the upcoming season for Lawson’s
football team, and what a good witness opportunity it is for a Christian to be
involved in such a secular environment as a football club. He talks about how
he used to pray before games, and how others gradually joined in as the year
went on, even the coach. It’s encouraging to hear how God is using the workers
in his harvest field. The conversation then transitions to the Christian
perspective of work. “People think of work as being a curse,” Lawson said.
“It’s a calling from God. We were called to work in the garden, right from the
start. The Bible describes work as having a curse over it from the fall, which
means that it can seem unproductive and meaningless at times. That’s what
Ecclesiastes is on about. So while work – like everything else – is under the
curse, it’s still a calling from God. People see work as being a negative
thing, a necessary evil, they see the whole ‘live to work or work to live’
thing. And many people definitely do live to work.”
This reminded me a bit of the conversation I had with Nath
the other day, where we had talked about how easy it is to idolise and worship
our careers.
“It’s also important to remember that God values all work
equally if that’s your calling, if you’re doing what he has willed for you to
do,” Lawson continued. “Doctors, for example, have a high status in society,
and it’s a role that people naturally aspire to. But God equally values the guy
that served us at Villis just then, provided he is doing his work for God’s
glory. And that’s something that’s challenged me in terms of doing both
landscaping and church work. You tend to elevate one. Christians focus on full
time ministry, but the secular work that we do can glorify God just as much.
Look at history – Christians have been at the forefront of scientific and
medical advances, cultural development, policy-making, all that sort of thing.
Christians made it happen. I think Christians today tend to idolise
church-based work. Previous generations had a better understanding of
Scriptures.”
“Do you think Christians are more ignorant today, or is it
more just a case of their being a smaller proportion of people in the world
today who identify themselves as born-again Christians?” I asked. “I’m not a
cultural expert by any stretch, but it seems that in the western world at
least, identifying yourself as being a Christian has gone from being the
default to being unusual in the last 100 years or so. You look at how Australia
started, and our origins are rooted in Christian values. Now we’re essentially
a secular nation.”
“Yeah, pop culture has definitely shifted away from
Christianity, and people’s values and habits are for the most part dictated by
pop culture. That’s something we’re called to resist as we live our lives for
God.”
Lawson then turned his focus to what working to glorify God
looks like. “Before I began to consider ministry, I wanted to be the best at my
job. I believe God wants excellence from us in our work. It’s a means of
worshiping him, provided we are working hard to honour him, not ourselves. We
also worship him by resting. God demonstrated working six days and resting one
day when he created the universe. My philosophy is that you should work hard
when you’re working, and make sure you rest well too. God designed us in his
image, and he rested.”
“And Jesus rested when he was tired from his hard work,” I
said. “Before he calmed the storm, he was sleeping after days of ministering to
the people around him. The Bible gives accounts of him working hard during his
ministry, but also resting.”
“Yeah, and it’s interesting, when he fed the 5000 people, he
was actually trying to get away from the people and have a rest, but crowds of
people came after him,” Lawson replied. “And he didn’t just leave them, he
pushed through the tiredness and kept on going. It’s a great example of God’s
calling for Christians to give their all. He calls us to rest well and to work
hard. We’ve got to be always willing to do God’s work. Whether that’s digging a
hole or preparing a Bible study, they’re both equally valuable in God’s sight
if that’s his will for you at that moment.”
That was a bit of a mind-blowing realisation for me. I find
– and I’m sure I’m not the only one – that I have a constant desire to be
productive. I want to see tangible results for every bit of effort I put into
something. And so from a Christian perspective, every second where I’m not
doing something that is bringing noticeable glory to God feels like a second
wasted. But Lawson is right, I realise. Even the things we do that don’t seem
to be building up God’s kingdom can still be honouring God. Take secular work
for example. God can be at work in so many ways through our work. Like through
our witness to non-Christian workmates and the way we conduct ourselves in
front of them. Who are we to limit in our minds what God might be doing in
their hearts. As we work, God is enabling us to develop character, patience,
perseverance, experience and skills that we can use to serve him in a variety
of ways down the track. And as we make our own contribution to the way the
world runs, God is using us to shape a world in which he promises to be
lovingly and sovereignly at work. In the book of Colossians, Paul makes it
clear that the purpose of our work is to reverently serve God:
Slaves, obey your
earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and
to curry their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
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 3:22-24)
“What do you think are some things that Christians to badly
in regards to work?” I asked.
“Firstly, when people compartmentalise, when they separate
their secular work from their serving of God,” Lawson replied thoughtfully. “I
think that’s unhealthy and unbiblical. It leads to people looking down on
others for doing certain things. It leads to sin in the church. And it
personifies the Sunday Christian. I think also laziness is a big one.”
I had to agree with that one. “It’s a poor witness, isn’t
it?”
“It’s a terrible witness. Work is one of your greatest
witness opportunities, why would you waste that by being lazy at your job? And
then on the flip-side, being a workaholic is bad as well. Idolising work. God
wants us to give our best while we’re at work, but to worship him first and
foremost. I see God as being my number one priority, then family, then church
and ministry, then work. And I make sure my prayer life matches that. When I
pray, I’ll focus firstly on God – like saying the Lord’s prayer or something
similar – then pray for my family, then for ministry stuff – discipling, that sort
of thing – then about work and evangelism. I find it definitely makes me think
about what I value, and helps me to prioritise stuff.”
He also sees a Sabbath day as being something that has
helped him. “I don’t see Christians as being under law and required to take a
Sabbath, I see it more as being under wisdom. God has created us to work and
rest, so I see a Sabbath as being a time for rest and recreation. I generally
wouldn’t do any sermon prep, church stuff, work or anything like that.”
And of course, prayer and Bible reading is an essential part
of any Christian’s life. “Spending time with God is the most valuable time of
day.” And while this may not seem directly related to the topic of work, there
is no way you will focus on God and seek to glorify him in your work if you
don’t have a solid relationship with him. And a solid relationship with God
comes through spending time reading his word and making it a priority to spend
time with him in prayer. Make prayer and Bible reading a top priority in your
life, and it will help you to focus better on serving God throughout the day,
not just on the odd occasion. I know this, and yet Lawson’s words still remind
me that I need to make these things a more urgent priority.
I came away from today’s discussion firmly reminded of how
God can use people in all circumstances for his glory. God has placed each
Christian person (every person in fact) in particular circumstances for
particular reasons. Our jobs have huge value in terms of honouring God. It’s a
reminder for each of us – no matter what we do for a living, if we are
fortunate enough to have work – to do our task to the best of our ability, for
God’s glory. Given that Christians will (hopefully) not worship our jobs and
live for them, we should be prepared to accept that we may never be the best in
our field. But we can be sure that God will be working through our efforts and
bringing about his purposes through our work. Work isn’t a curse. Futility is a
curse. God created us to work well, to rest well, and to do it all to honour
him.
No comments:
Post a Comment