If there is one issue that the church seems to have led the culture in (as opposed to following), it is in a disposition and mentality around work. The twentieth century evangelical church is often notorious for playing “catch-up” with the ill-advised directions of secular culture, but we could be said to have “beaten the culture” to a place of low regard for work, for professional excellence, and for vocational achievement. The American DNA was largely pioneering, entrepreneurial, risk-taking, and industrious, and this DNA was largely preserved even as the country became increasingly secularized. But the postwar American church seemed to adopt a more transactional view of work (at best), and a very skeptical and even resentful view (at worst). And alas, the culture now may be trying to catch up to the church! The tables seem to have turned, but not in the way we want.

Creational Theology Defines Work for the Christian

Embedded in this diagnosis is my view that the evangelical church is wrong to shun work, to look skeptically on it, and to view such vocational endeavors as a mere “means to an end.” Christians who hold fast to a creational theology see work as an integral part of imago Dei, of our being made (before sin entered the world) with the creative, productive, and innovative characteristics of our Heavenly Father. It is essentially indisputable that work is defined in the creation account as part of the purpose of mankind, and that man’s calling is fully integrated with the stewardship of the world, the filling of the earth, and the cultivation of civilization. Christians can debate about the Genesis 3 impact on the Genesis 1 reality, but they cannot deny the Genesis 1 reality—God made mankind in his image, and defined this in the context of our work, of our vitally important endeavors. In economics, we refer to this as “production.” In Christian theology, it is service, it is labor, and it is worship.

And today, too often, it is considered something to be frowned on.

How Secular Culture Celebrates Hard Work

Of course, there are many in the secular culture who celebrate hard work, but to a point of burnout and even idolatry. Hard work is not always glorified for the way in which it will serve mankind, honor God, and produce goods and services that enhance the standard of living of our neighbors. It is often glorified only in the context of self-promotion or ego. We can debate how prevalent this view is, but we can’t debate that is out there.

Right Conclusions Rooted to the Right Premises

While the Bible teaches us that it is normal that believers and unbelievers may have often have contrary motives for doing things, it is imperative that Christians find the right conclusions (work is good, blessed, noble, and needed), but rooted to the right premises (because God made us with dignity, and because hard work reflects his own character and attributes). Celebrating work for the wrong reasons and with the wrong attachments will inevitably lead to a distorted view and application, all together. The bouts of burnout culture we sometimes see are a case in point.

What the Biblical Account Tells Us About Work, Life, and Rest

All of this is reconciled and harmonized in the biblical account. The Bible did not ask for a “work-life balance” but rather a “work-rest paradigm.” God worked six days and rested one and then commanded that we do the same. He did that because He loves us, not because He hates us. Our drive, our burden, our pressure, our intensity, ought to be turned on for those six days. And our rest, our contemplation, our reflection, our meditation, ought to be turned on so as to reset our batteries on the other day. Christians need not fear intense drive and aspiration in our work and they need not embrace a burnout mentality that shuns biblical rest, either. God not only provided normative instruction for this ratio and paradigm, but He modeled it for us in creation. He left us perfect clarity as to the expectation and best practice.

Reflecting God’s Character in Our Work

Christians can shun the undesirable elements of burnout culture without throwing away hard work and a commitment to vocational excellence. We can reflect the character of God in our work, disdaining mediocrity, while maintaining the fruits of the spirit and the heart posture that God has asked of us. We do not have to choose between burnout and laziness. Instead, we can pick the model God gave us—to work hard and to rest in him, knowing that the race is before us, to be won.