April 23rd, 2021: Work and Its Spiritual Meaning

 


Numerous people asked me recently about my retirement plan. I haven't thought about it much because I am still enjoying what I am doing. After all, I am not sure that retirement is a biblical concept. As long as I am still healthy and cognitively aware, I will keep ongoing. It is also challenging for someone in my type of work to retire because it is all about human relationships.


Working for me is my privilege in participating with God in His ongoing act of creation. As long as I can still see God's hand in my work, I will continue to expect his marvelous revelation and involvement in people's lives. It is about living out what God has intended for us in the world. Work is about acknowledging our true vocation, and that is a high calling.


That does not mean that we don't feel tired and stressed at times. We are not free from our own temptations. We are constantly fighting between the will of God and the desire of the flesh in everything we do. We claim that we care about God's work while the opposite is true. We are actually driven by the flesh. Sometimes we start with a good intention and then get distracted by the power, the fame, and the adoration of others. That is when we fail. Humility and accountability are what we need to avoid these stumbling blocks. Maybe that is the time we should step aside.


Ephesians 6: 11-12


"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

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