Theology of Work in the STEM Professions Week 5

Theology of WorkFinding Balance at Work

Session Five

In this session we will learn the following:

1. The Meaning of the “Sabbath”

2. Characteristics of the Sabbath for STEM professionals

3. Working life of STEM professionals

4. Historical Perspectives on “Work”

5. Leisure and Busyness

6. Calling and Vocation

Learning Components for Session Five

The Sabbath had many meanings:

1. It was a law---Ex 20:8-11, fulfilled by Jesus in Mk 2:28

2. It was a gift---the celebration of creation and redemption, “a blessing”: Gen 2:3, Ex 10:8-11; Dt 5:12-15

3. It was a vocation/calling---God himself rests, Gen 2:2

4. It was a sacrament of time---a sign, Ex 31;12-13, 17

The Meaning of the Sabbath

5. It was a metaphor of Salvation: Heb 4;9, Matt 11:28

6. It was a prophecy of hope, in the new Heaven and new Earth, Rev. 21-22. It is a chance to “play heaven”.

In this sense, it involved:

PlayPeace-makingPrayer

The Meanings of the Sabbath

The Sabbath was not intended as the cessation of activity, but the culmination of it, in its purest, more worshipful, most creative form.

The six days flow into the Sabbath and the Sabbath stirs the ground and replenishes the soil for the growth of the next six days.

The Meaning of the Sabbath

Indeed, Adam and Eve experienced the Sabbath after their creation and prior to their work. It is also the gestation, the creative pause, not unlike the nine months that a fetus grows and develop prior to biological birth. The work of birth and subsequent infant activities are a culmination of the “sabbath rest”, essential for healthy work later.

In other words, Sabbath precedes and is the impetus to work as well as the fulfillment of work It is not the reward at the end of work.

The Meaning of the Sabbath

Anna is described as a six year “theologian, mathematician, philosopher, poet and gardener.” Her life and death are told charmingly in this book by Fynn. Her insights dovetail with the understanding of the Sabbath presented here.

A Reading from Mister God, This is Anna

Anna: “What was God’s greatest creative act? It was the seventh day---course it was---the seventh day. . . No, he made rest. . . Yes, that’s the biggest miracle. Rest is. . . When he was finished making all the things. Mister God had undone all the muddle. Then you can rest, so that’s why rest is the very , very biggest miracle of all. Don’t you see? . . . You have to have a muddle in your head before you really know what rest is.” pp. 131-132

Anna’s Understanding of the Sabbath

Perhaps, as Anna suggests, we need to absorb the “muddle” of God’s creative powers of the six days of the week that will make our subsequent work meaningful

For those in the STEM professions, there is often a religious gestation of musing, of brooding in the deeper questions of life that ultimately stirs the creative juices that follow into a lifestyle of work.

This is a “formative” sabbath that impels all subsequent work.

A Conclusion

1. A sense of awe in the face of natural processes.

2. An appreciation of beauty in the designs of nature

3. A spirit of curiosity that begs for answers

4. An admission of humility in the face of infinity

5. A thirst for transcendence to reach beyond what is seen

6. A passion for creativity that desires to form something new

7. An itch to make a significant contribution to the quality of life in general

Characteristics of the Preparatory Sabbath for STEM Professionals

After the gestation period of “rest” or of Sabbath in our imagined “Eden”, then one plows into Work.

Here are some suggestions adapted from the Lausanne Documents, Lausanne Publication, Marketplace Ministry, Occasional Paper No. 40 that might describe those engaged in the STEM professions:

Then the breakthrough into Work

STEM Christians can . . . 1. Expand their understanding of spiritual disciplines to

include activities more often associated with the everyday.

2. Reclaim aspects of their work as spiritually significant when they see what they do as a reflection of God.

3. Find support and fellowship in naming and responding to the presence of God in their work by linking up with other Christians in similar professions or fields of work.

Suggestions for the Working Life of the STEM People of God

The gathered STEM people of God can reclaim their workplaces as a nexus for God’s presence in the following ways:

1. By bringing everyday life experiences into the Sunday worship experience.

2. By celebrating the skills and gifts of their workplaces.

3. By providing places and relationships of accountability.

4. By providing preaching and teaching relevant to life in the STEM world.

5. By providing pastoral support for those engaged in the STEM professions.

6. By taking “church” to the workplace.

Suggestions for the Gathered Life of the STEM People of God

Much of Christian history tilts against Work as being something unspiritual. It prioritized “spiritual contemplation” or “service to others” as superior to labor of other kinds.

As such it demeaned Work, ranked jobs in pecking order of usefulness, or dismissed its eternal purpose altogether.

Other religious groups such as the Puritans ennobled Work but oftentimes removed spontaneity and play outside of its domain.

Both positions are wrong.

The Implicit Religious Bias Against Work

It was commonly believed that spirituality was incompatible with the world of Work. A Lausanne statement describes the two “realms”, both during the Middle Ages and today

The Spiritual Realm The World of Work

Withdrawal Engagement Solitude Community

Silence Noise Stillness Movement

Serenity Chaos Simplicity Complexity

Meditation Multi-tasking Order Interruption Centered Scattered

Focused Busyness Seriousness Humorous Quietness Raised Voices

Spirituality Versus Work

By the 17th century, the influence of the Puritans was profound. They codified “leisure” with the following components:

To them leisure had to be. . . 1. Lawful2. Reputable3. Profitable4. Glorifying to God5. Refreshing to bodies and minds6. Efficient and moderate in time and affections (Ryken,

207) see Phil 4:8.

TOW throughout Christian History

The period of the “Enlightenment”, that is the 18th and 19th centuries, depending on where one is evaluating, saw the Enlightenment secularize the Protestant work ethic into a creed for personal success, with Benjamin Franklin leading the cheerleaders.

Adam Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, says: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner. But from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love.” (Ryken, 71)

TOW in the Enlightenment

The Industrial Revolution produced a whole new reality about work: the monotony of tasks, the inability to see work’s results personally, the denial of satisfaction, depersonalization, anonymity in the work process, loss of pride, etc.

This produced a contrary reaction as seen in the

emergence of Karl Marx: “A class must be formed which . . . Is the dissolution of all classes, a sphere of society which has a universal character because its sufferings are universal. . . This dissolution of society. . . is the proletariat.”

TOW throughout Christian History

During the Technological Age of the 20th century, work has often devolved into meaninglessness.

The worker is often powerless, isolated and self-estranged. (Ryken, 47)

TOW and Christian History

On the other hand, the 20th century has often been labeled, the “Age of Leisure”.

1. Leisure has become secularized.2. There is a decreasing amount of time for

genuine leisure. “The amount of genuine leisure is generally in inverse proportion to the amount of labor-saving machinery it employs.” (E F Schumacher in Ryken 51).

TOW in the Christian Era

The intense busyness of the 20th and 21st century worker can be described in the following ways:

Full calendars Professionalization of childhood Working longer and harder More things and more encumbrances Increasing complexity and regulation of

corporate life Guilt feelings when inactive Competition with associated workers

The Problem of Busyness

“Work . . . Is the great narcotic that enables people to suppress many of their anxieties, the place where they can hide themselves from their own inner fears. It is an environment that favors the bureaucracy of work and action, or busyness simply for the sake of being kept busy. It is unreflective of the real issues of the life and death of the soul of man.”

“Do the Works of Man Secularize the Service of Christ? Interchange, p. 59.

Quotation by James Houston

The term “leisure” comes from “licere”, to be permitted:

The problems of “leisure are these:

1. Compartmentalization: It cuts generationally, i.e. youth is all study; mid age, all work, retirement, all play.

2. Ambivalence: Within the Christian community, leisure and play are uncomfortably accepted while workaholism is considered a religious virtue.

A Discussion about “Leisure”

Additional Failures to Experience Meaningful Leisure:

3. Because both parents work outside of the home, often genuine leisure is squelched.

4. There is the loss of a sense of vocation that appropriately might include leisure and play.

5. Leisure has become so commercialized that one has to work hard to finance play.

Discussion on Leisure, cont’d

G. K. Chesterton suggests that healthy non-work, or leisure opens the door to freedom:

1. Freedom to do something, i.e. hobbies and recreation.

2. Freedom to do anything, i.e. the automobile originally was more of a plaything.

3. Freedom to do nothing. This opens the door to creative “brooding”, meditation, alternate realities.

Defining Non-Work

Leisure, appropriately expressed should. . .

Provide Diversion

Provide Relaxation and Rest

Personally Restore Oneself

Be Transformative

The Value of Leisure

A Biblical Theology espouses a proper understanding of Leisure:

1. It gives a mandate to enjoy God’s creation (Gen 1:31).

2. It offers us grace, in that it reminds us to not take ourselves too seriously.

3. It remind us that “time” is not a commodity but rather, a gift. Therefore, we avoid the compulsiveness of our personalities. We learn to “savor” time, rather than let time govern us.

Theology of Leisure

Gen. 3:6 reminds us that there are temptations in leisure at three levels:

Godless sensuality (“good for food”), to nurture oneself in inappropriate ways.

Godless aesthetic (“delight to the eyes”), to delight in those things that contaminate the spirit.

Godless experience (“desired to make one wise”), to experience that which was not intended for us.

The Temptations of Leisure

A quotation by St Augustine reminds us of the boundaries of leisure:

“. . . No one ought to be so leisured as to take no thought for the interest of his neighbor, nor so active as to feel no need for the contemplation of God.” Meilander, 132.

A Condition of Leisure

Here are some practical suggestions in programming appropriate leisure in your life:

1. Understand your own leisure style and needs (Are you compulsive? Passive?)

2. Choose free time over more pay

3. Embrace both leisure and the Sabbath

4. Choose edifying leisure over debilitating pleasures

5. Choose leisure that expresses family values

6. Discover solitary leisure that is personally restorative

Practical Suggestions for Leisure

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Col. 3:17)

All work matters to God! That work will either honor God or dishonor Him.

There is no “neutral” work! One works either with God or against God. Work which is merely “putting in the time”, is work that “works” against God and His purposes.

Whose Work Matters to God?

As said earlier, “Vocation” is a Calling. And who is doing the “calling”. Is it your own . . .

intuition?

desires?

understanding of others’ expectations?

means to a wealthy and comfortable lifestyle?

easiest option?

aptitude or skill?

Calling and Vocation

Or is it God who calls, but may be confirmed by aptitude, desire, skills, or available options?

1. For there to be a “callee”, there must be a CALLER

2. Before we are called to do something, we are called to SOMEONE

3. The “Calling” of God is COMPREHENSIVE, andinvolves the whole of life

Calling and Vocation

4. ALL OF GOD’S PEOPLE ARE CALLED under the New Covenant, not just prophets, priests and princes.

There is not a single instance in the New Testament of a person being called to a societal occupation, rather to “follow me” without any sense of the implications of that.

There is not a single instance of a person being called

to be a “religious professional”. The criteria for church leadership is not a “secret call” but rather the qualification of character (1 Tim 3; Tit 1)

Vocation = Calling

God guides one into vocation in a variety of ways:

1. By His Word---Scripture tells us how to live (Prov. 1:5)

2. By His providential ordering of our lives

3. By endowing us with gifts and talents

4. By enabling us to exercise sound judgment and wisdom (Acts 15:38; 6:3; 15:36; 20:16; Rom 1:10-13; 1 Cor 16:4-9; 2 Cor 1:5-2:4)

5. By motivating us uniquely, giving us passion

6. By the direct leading of the Spirit

Finding One’s Vocation

Vocational Discernment is one of the most neglected ministries of the Church.

1. It is never merely individual self-assessment (introspection) but involves corporate affirmation (the Biblical suggestion of two or three witnesses)

2. It involves self-knowledge, listening to the voice of God, discerning the leading of the Spirit

3. It is a process that lasts a lifetime

Vocational Discernment

Vocational Discernment necessarily involves. . . 1. Motivation

2. Talents and Gifts

3. Personality

4. Negative Constraints

5. Blocks/Dysfunctionalities

6. Direct Leading of the Lord

Vocational Discernment

Tom Bassford of “Significant Matters” has presented to us a visual way of looking at what he calls, the “sweet spot”. This is found in the Materials section. Examine it carefully.

It shows the convergence of three circles: 1. My Passion

2. My Significant Matter

3. My Skills and Experience

Finding Your “Sweet Spot”

One’s “Passion” includes not necessarily the items Bassford suggests. Rather, the passion is born of the reality of need, and the burning desire to make a contribution, to change things, to be a transformational agent.

Passion comes from both the leadership of

God, and the awareness of need around

Vocation and “Passion”

“My Significant Matter” is where I find affirmation, self-realization, a comfort level of meaning and purpose, a sense of “this is what I was made for”.

This is discovered by engagement in a variety of situations that a person willing puts himself or herself into.

Vocation and “My Significant Matter”

John Perkins’ interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer:

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

The Will of God is that we identify with the Kingdom that is coming, rather than wait around to be zapped by some mystical divine revelation. In other words, find where the Kingdom is happening and go to work there.

My Significant Matter

God has implanted in us certain native aptitudes that experience can develop and mature. It is important to give God the broadest range of experiences to release latent aptitudes and skills. To limit or fail to experiment, may suppress gifts that God has given so that they never develop.

Vocation and “My Skills and Experience”

“Up to the age of 30, or beyond it, poetry of many kinds gave me great pleasure. I have also said that formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great, delight. But now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry. I have also almost lost my taste for picture or music. My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts.”

Quotation by Charles Darwin

One may find his or her personal calling or “sweet spot” through the following:

1. Pray continually to be in constant communion with God

2. Gather information about yourself, your passions, your interests, your central motivations, possible occupations through reading, inventories, interviews, personal meditation, journal-keeping

How to Discern Your Personal Calling

3. Engage selected believers who know you well in the process of discernment.

4. Clarify your own general and particular calling, its comprehensiveness and the sense of “oughtness” or “I was made for this” in a particular direction, or more likely in more than one possible direction.

5. Consider the negatives and positives, those who would be advantaged or disadvantaged by this decision, as well as constraints (finances, health, family responsibilities)

How to Discern Your Personal Calling, cont’d

6. Take time. If the decision must be made immediately, it may be only a stop-gap fill-in.

7. If you are married, seek God’s leading and discuss and pray until you have unity, as both are affected by your decision. God’s goal is not to “get the job done as quickly as possible” but to create unity. “If it is not God’s will for both of us, it is probably not God’s will, no matter how much one spouse believes he or she has God’s guidance”.

How to Discern Personal Calling, Cont’d

8. Be open to supernatural guidance through prophetic words, visions, dreams, definite transcendental messages from God. But do not demand this for decision-making.

9. When you have decided, do not look back. If you have made a mistake, God will show you this and may either redeem the mistake, incorporating it into his revised plan for you, or move you forward.

How to Discern Personal Calling, Cont’d

“The kind of work God usually calls you to, is the kind of work that you most need to do and the world most needs to have done. . . Thus, the place God calls you is the place your deep gladness and the world deep hunger meet.”

Quotation by Frederick Buechner

Work is made meaningful by the appropriate balance between active engagement in Work, experience qualitative Sabbath, and times of leisure. To determine one’s calling, there is often a gestation period in one’s life, of brooding, experimenting, testing—a preparatory Sabbath that ultimately will bring together a convergence into that “Sweet Spot” in one’s life.

Conclusions

Feel free in insert below your questions and feedback on what you have learned in this

PowerPoint:

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Your Questions and Comments

End of Session Five