Today is Labor Day. For many, labor is just a necessary evil. The work week is something to be slogged through to get to the rest and recreation of the weekend.  

For Christians, however, work is neither evil nor pointless. It’s an invitation to join with God in his creative and redemptive work. To quote the nineteenth century Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle, who was once quoted on a 1956 Labor Day stamp, “Labor is life: from the inmost heart of the worker rises his God-given force, the sacred celestial life-essence breathed into him by Almighty God!” 

Contemporary author and financial commentator David Bahnsen has helpfully unpacked the value and gift of work in his latest book, Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life. I recently had the privilege of interviewing him about the value of work and stewardship.  

Here’s Bahnsen: 

For those of us who believe in cultural impact—the kingdom of God being a matter of all of these endeavors that God has created and cares about—the marketplace, to me, is the most fertile soil for Christians to do the work of the Kingdom, to stand out.  

There are areas in which it can be weird because for one thing, these days it might be weird to tell the truth. It may be weird to understand basic human anthropology. It may be weird to be faithful to your spouse. You know, there’s all kinds of things in which certain virtues, character traits that are unique to Christians, represent a positive differentiation.  

But I also would say that if we are doing our jobs right, this is the essence of the book. We will not be weird, we will not stand out, we will not move the needle in the culture only because we bring the most honesty to work, although I hope we do. We will also need to bring the most technique, the most productivity, the most innovation, the most hustle, grit. 

I think basically being the top-performers in our work is a moral calling. And that’s what the heart of the book is—that there is morality and obedience in performance and achievement. And we are not merely ignoring that message. We are preaching the opposite. We are saying: “You know what? It’s time to quit worrying about what we do and just sort of sit back and focus on a very quiet, unproductive, unremarkable life.”  

And I believe that’s what we’ve done in [economics]—though, thank God, we’re not saying that about other domains. There [are] more and more Christians saying something very different about politics or about education. But in the marketplace, where most people spend most of their time, there is an opportunity for incredible cultural conquest and influence. And I believe that we have to understand, creationally, why God made us for that higher calling.  

Of course, in a world where the market is volatile and unpredictable, it’s tempting to live in fear about work and our investments.  

Whether it’s fear of a market sell-off or fear of political election outcome, the general framework of Christians living in fear and despair is unacceptable in a biblical worldview.  

“Fear not” is repeated most in Scripture out of every other commandment being told not to be afraid. Now that doesn’t mean you should go stand in the middle of a railroad track and not be afraid. However, I do think it’s important when you have a perspective, a sort of sober judgment that comes from the Christian understanding of God’s sovereignty, of His control, and when you have sensible plans in place with an  understanding that there are unpredictabilities in the world that are going to come up, that those things don’t dislodge us.

Our plans that we make in life are always subject to unpredictable things, and we should not be undone in fear in those moments.  

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