Work-Changing Implications of Following Jesus, Part 2

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

In yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, I began to consider the question: If I follow Jesus, should I quit my job? I noted that many Christian testimonies seem to imply that real discipleship means leaving behind “secular” employment to go into “full-time ministry.” These stories appear to be consistent with what we see in Mark 1. When Jesus calls his first disciples, Simon and Andrew, then James and John, he calls them away from their work (fishing for fish) and into a new line of work (fishing for people). If we are going to follow Jesus faithfully, should we leave our jobs and take on new employment?

Sometimes, the answer to this question is “Yes.” Even today, the Lord sometimes calls people for whom obedience means leaving their jobs so they might serve the Lord in new ways. Yet, often, indeed, most of the time, the call of Jesus does not require the leaving of our jobs. Rather, it invites us to see our work in a whole new light and to do our work for a whole new purpose. Following Jesus fills our “ordinary work” with new meaning and energy. Or, better yet, when we follow Jesus fully and faithfully, there is no “ordinary work.”

The Theology of Work commentary on Mark 1:16-20 wisely observes, “This section needs to be treated cautiously: while the disciples are paradigms of the Christian life, they also occupy a unique position in the story of salvation. Their summons to a distinctive kind of service, and to the forsaking of their current employment, does not establish a universal pattern for Christian life and vocation. Many, indeed most, of those who follow Jesus do not quit their jobs to do so (see Vocation Overview at www.theologyofwork.org). Nevertheless, the ways in which the demands of the kingdom cut across and override the usual principles of society are transferable and enlightening to our work.”

If you’re looking for a biblical example of someone who maintained his occupation while following Jesus radically, remember the Apostle Paul. Perhaps the most influential disciple of Jesus in the first century A.D. was not a “full-time minister” in the common sense of the phrase. He was not paid for his apostolic efforts and only occasionally received financial support from his churches. Rather, Paul was a “full-time craftsman,” a leatherworker who often used his skills to make tents. Usually, therefore, we refer to Paul as a tentmaker. During most of his apostolic efforts, Paul worked long hours in his craft, using his work to support himself and as a platform for sharing the gospel.

The example of Paul helps us realize that following Jesus does not necessarily mean we give up our careers or our occupations. But, if we follow Jesus faithfully, then how we live and how we work will be radically altered, even if we remain in the same jobs we had before saying “Yes” to Jesus.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Is Church Work a Higher Calling?.