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What Should I Do With My Life? 5

Word of the Day

Desiring God Ministries--part 6 & 7 of 8 aims that should drive every Christian's career path.

6. Aspire to Overflow to Others

For the glory of God, you should aspire to provide for yourselves, but it shouldn’t end there. God has much more in mind for your money than simply your family’s food, rent, and gasoline. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28). Paul didn’t say, “so that he need not steal from others.” No, godly work isn’t merely concerned with me. Truly Christian careers, in whatever industry, meet the needs of others.

The promise we have from Jesus is, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). We stupidly seek after blessing by earning and hording. Jesus promises we’ll be better off — really better off — when we stop keeping for ourselves and liberally let go of what is ours for others. So we should pray and interview and negotiate and sign contracts with this goal in mind — regularly and radically sharing our wealth with others (1 Timothy 6:18).

7. Aspire to Build and Protect the Church

God saves the world through the church (Ephesians 3:10). It’s his only means of carrying the message of the gospel to all the workplaces and peoples around the world. There isn’t a plan B, a strategy yet undiscovered that might replace the church. And our victory through the church is sure (Matthew 16:18), so no true investment there will ever be in vain.

All of our work should be contributing to that great cause — the church growing and multiplying by bringing God’s children home with the good news of Jesus Christ. The church is a body made up of lots of members that depend on each other, like eyes and hands and legs (1 Corinthians 12:12–26). If you are following Jesus, you are part of that body. If you’re in Christ, you can’t decide whether or not you’re a part of his body. You can decide whether you’ll be an active, healthy part of it.

If you’re not, the church will suffer. It will lack the unique gifts God has given you to serve her. It could be teaching or counseling or finances or greeting or cooking or driving or a thousand other things. So as you work, have in mind how those 100,000 work hours might serve the local church most.

Amazingly, the work of the church is not ultimately done by pastors, but lay people. The shepherds are there “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). Pastors equip you and me to do the ministry. That suggests you are just as likely, maybe more, to be engaged in the mission of the church if you’re not paid by the church. That makes every non-vocational lover of Jesus incredibly strategic for the kingdom.

Randy Smith