Snowy Mountain

Breaking Down Sacred/Secular Divisions
Pastor David White

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Colossians 3:23-24

As a brand-new Christian I moved back to Philadelphia from Austin, TX and began an old job working in a warehouse for a company that sold mass-produced oil paintings in hotel ballrooms. (Perhaps you remember the commercials from late night TV in the ‘90s: “This weekend only! No painting over $59.95! Sold in Europe for hundreds more!”) One day I accidentally ran a cart into a snowy mountain painting (one of hundreds) and ripped the canvas. Now, the standard operating procedure for warehouse workers in this situation was to discreetly set the damaged painting aside only to be discovered later by someone else. But, convicted, I took it to my boss’s office to report the damage. The reward for my honesty? “Go clean the [absolutely filthy] bathrooms!” Although immediately angered by this punitive response, I rolled up my sleeves and began the task. I was committed to making those bathrooms sparkle! I had yet to read Colossians, but the Spirit impressed this truth on my heart: You are serving the Lord Christ. I cleaned the bathrooms to honor my King, not to ingratiate myself to a vindictive employer. Paul speaks these words to slaves – the lowliest of citizens in the Roman world. In Titus 2:9-10 he gives a similar command concluding, “so that in everything they may adorn (or “beautify”) the doctrine of God our Savior.” A slave’s faithful service for the sake of Jesus is like a gold chain hung around the neck of the King!

For much of Church history, Christians believed that priests, monks, nuns, and others serving in church ministry were doing the “really important” holy work. There was a belittling of “secular” vocations, and a lack of understanding and appreciation for the fact that everything that we do has the opportunity to glorify God.  As His image-bearers, we are to live out His calling in our lives for the betterment of the world that He created, and nurture the society in which we live. And this is true for all of us in every vocation.

Consider a hospital. Everyone involved can work for the glory of God: the architect who designs a functional space to practice medicine with a sensitivity to the needs of the patients; the bricklayers who erect the building; the doctors and nurses who offer critical care; the church lay leaders who visit the sick, and the custodian who maintains the sanitary environment which is so vital to them all.

As people of God, representatives of a gracious King and His Kingdom, that live in a broken world, we must remind ourselves that all work has value to God, and He does not discriminate between tasks. (Even one who gives a cup of cold water in His name will not lose a reward – Matthew 10:42). As in so many other cases, God’s economy differs from our own. And as citizens of that new Kingdom with those new norms, we must rehearse and practice this vital motto: everything matters -- all things holy. Only then will we be free in our hearts to live out every moment in true worship -- serving as unto the Lord.

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