The Christian in the Workplace, 5/28/00, Pastor Thompson

"A Passion for Excellence", part 1

We must plug this passion into a passion for the glory of God.  That's what we're here for.  Eat, drink, or whatever--all must be to God's glory.  How do I accomplish such a lofty goal--to have a passion for excellence in work by glorifying God?  You must have:

I.  Passion for the Purposes of God in Relationship to our Work
There is no interest in truth in our culture today.  The passion is from the beginning.  Gen. 2:8 

A.  Labor as a significant element of our humanity
God gave Adam a career at the very beginning.  Remember, God made man in His own image.  Your career is designed to reflect the glory of God.  you are who and where you are because God made you thus and put you thus.

B.  Significance of labor unchanged by the fall
Man's labor is not changed in its duty because of Adam's sin.  The peculiar arena of difficulty because of sin is, especially in man, in his labor.  The curse brought hardship to it, yet labor itself was not part of the curse.

C.  The glory of labor restored in redemption
God's saving activity has a profound effect upon our minds.  Those who are not Christians have their thinking veiled.  2 Cor. 4:1-6  We must understand our labor in its Biblical framework.

3 Applications
- If you're to have any passion for the dignity and necessity of labor, you must go back to Genesis and think "My career has dignity because it is a portrait designed by my Father to illustrate His glory and power."

- A healthy, Biblical realism will be provided you from your work.  That's because you'll have aggravation, temptation, and shattered dreams.  EVEN in a vocation you love.  Psalm 62:10, Prov. 23:4-5, Rom. 8:20

What is the ultimate and final end for which we work?
- It is ultimately to stack up all our works at the feet of the King.  Our retirement plan is the laying up of treasure in heaven.  You don't naturally think like that, either.