The Importance of Work

The following article was taken from the LICC:Engaging with Work web site.
Overall work has been getting tougher for UK workers for at least the last 15 years – whether you are a Christian or not. Longer hours, more pressure, less joy and, for many people, the absence of a sense of meaning and purpose in what they do.
And yet, one of work's main goals is to make God's world a better place for all God's creatures to flourish in - to His glory. And that applies whether our primary work is in the home, in a school, an office, a factory, a field or a church.
Work is therefore one of the primary ways we live out what it means to be a whole-life disciple of Jesus - seeking first his kingdom, doing good work in his strength, seeking to bless colleagues and customers and suppliers, and seeking to contribute to making the organisations we work in good places to do good work.
Yes, work matters hugely.
And to many people it brings the joys of purpose shared, relationships deepened, talents honed, character shaped, obstacles overcome, products made, people served and money earned - even amid the inevitable frustrations, failures and disagreements of working life in even the best of organisations. Still, for many people, most people actually, work is not only getting harder, longer, less satisfying and more draining, but is stretching its voracious tentacles into almost every area of life, sucking out the zing and whoosh and ease from time with family, friends, hobbies and community activities. UK citizens, for example, work four hours longer per person per week than the citizens of any other EU nation. We live in Slave New World.
How do we follow Jesus faithfully and fruitfully in such conditions?
Is coping - getting through the week - the height of our ambition? Surely not. But do we have good news for the workplace? Not just a truth to proclaim but a way to follow. Not just a way to follow but life, divine life to infuse the quality of our work, the quality of our relationships at work and the quality of our contribution to the culture of the organisations we work in?
And how can churches become communities that envision and resource and support the workers for their kingdom role at work?
For over twenty years LICC people have been pioneers in workplace ministry and have produced a series of groundbreaking resources to envision and equip individuals and to envision and resource church communities. Today, we continue to seek to serve the church and the working world through both our full-time staff and our team of workplace associates and a continuing programme of both teaching and new resource development.
On our website (www.licc.org.uk) you'll find material for workers, students and graduates, and church leaders - foundational articles as well as material on a range of topics, plus interviews, downloads, reviews, resources and links to other organisations concerned to cooperate in God's mission at work. We hope you find it helpful.
Mark Greene, Executive Director, LICC (Author: )

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