Work-Changing Implications of Following Jesus, Part 1

Scripture — Mark 1:19-20 (NRSV)

As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Devotion

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the same basic story told with different details. It goes something like this: “I was a Christian, working in secular employment. But I really wanted to be a more faithful follower of Jesus, so I left my job and became a pastor (or a missionary, or an employee of some Christian organization). Now I’m really following Jesus and it’s awesome.” When we hear this story, we’re impressed. We applaud. Maybe we even chip in to support this person in their ministry.

It’s a wonderful thing when someone truly hears God’s call to leave “secular” employment and get more directly involved in some kind of explicitly Christian work. I have the greatest respect for those who follow Jesus on a disruptive and personally costly path. There is no question in my mind that sometimes God calls people away from one line of work (fishing for fish, for example) and into another line of work (fishing for people). Those who say “Yes” to Jesus are to be affirmed and supported.

But it’s also a wonderful thing when someone truly hears God’s call to “secular” employment as a means of serving both God and neighbor. I think, for example, of what happened to a young businessman named R. G. LeTourneau. When he had a profound experience of God’s grace in his life, he promised to serve God fully from that moment on. LeTourneau assumed that this meant he should be a pastor or a missionary. He met with his pastor to affirm this new direction for his life. But, after the two men prayed together, the pastor said, “You know, Brother LeTourneau, God needs businessmen as well as preachers and missionaries.” So R.G. LeTourneau gave himself fully to God’s service, not as a pastor or missionary, but as a godly person of business whose work glorified God and served both his customers and his employees.

Too often, the underlying message communicated by those who leave their jobs to “follow Jesus” is that “secular” work is somehow less godly than obviously “religious” work. They might even suggest that “radical discipleship” of Jesus would mean a similar thing for all Christians, that working in an “ordinary job” is somehow less honorable, holy, and faithful than working “for Jesus” in a church or mission organization. Many Christians, when they hear stories of those who give up well-paying jobs to become missionaries or pastors, feel as if they are second-class disciples. They are following Jesus, sort of. They are Christians, but not “all out for Jesus.”

Of course, one might think that the gospel stories of the call of the disciples show that real discipleship requires leaving our jobs. After all, Simon and Andrew stopped being fishermen to follow Jesus and fish for people (1:16-18). James and John did one better, actually leaving their father in the boat to take off after Jesus (1:19-20). Don’t these stories teach us that radical Christians should leave their jobs to be true disciples of Jesus?

You can probably guess how I would answer this question, but I’m not going to offer my answer until tomorrow. For now, I’d like you to reflect on this question and your own life. If you are really serious about following Jesus, should you quit your job and work in a Christian non-profit?

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Secular Work vs. Sacred Work: The Greek Distortion of Work.