God created man to first work, not to worship. Work was the beginning of his worship. Work must not be viewed as a utilitarian instrument (for example, a means to give more to the church), but work itself is a holy ministry toward others in that work is producing goods and services that provide for the needs, comfort, and joy of others. Again, in my opinion, if the first half of the 4th commandment (working six days) received as much attention as the second half (resting one day), then the kingdom of God would be greatly advanced.
David Bahnsen in his latest book Full-Time: Work and The Meaning of Life challenges a few theological presuppositions prominent in the modern evangelical and reformed world regarding the relationship between faith and work. This also includes an interesting chapter on the rather new concept (over the course of history) of retirement.
David is the son of the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen, well known in reformed circles as a scholar, and who is often associated with the theological views of Theonomy. After David’s father died at a young age, David tells the reader in the book that he lost his best friend while just a young college student. This was a very difficult time in his life, and maybe the most helpful therapy, besides his faith, in dealing with his loss was work. And work he did!
David is today the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of the Bahnsen Group, a private wealth management firm managing over $4.5 billion in client assets. For those familiar with the financial world, he is a regular guest on several national media outlets such as Fox Business, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox News.
Because of his love for Christ’s Church, especially as it is expressed in the reformed faith, he deals with some suspect theological assumptions that come from modern pulpits (often unawares) regarding the place of work and retirement in the life of every Christian.
David is very balanced in his book. By balanced I mean he is always predicting potential objections to his statements and qualifying them so as not to be misinterpreted as one who is rushing off into some extreme view. I call this the “However Rule.” I have written enough to know that some of the most important terms in writing are words like however, but, or on the other hand.
Readers can quickly draw errant deductions from a written statement, and a good writer will know when and how to neutralize those false deductions. He will then add qualifying statements. In other words [yes, I am a writer too], David is very balanced in the book, qualifying his stated views where there might be a temptation to mis-understand him.
So, what are some of the errant suppositions about work that are so prevalent today in the reformed and evangelical world? I think in answering these questions, it should be noted that he begins in the Book of Genesis and not in the New Testament. He has what some have termed a Creational Worldview (see Creational Worldview – An Introduction by P. Andrew Sandlin). Let me cover just a few of his themes in the book.
- The Prodigal Son in the Basement Playing Video Games
He offers several reasons for this phenomenon including the societal characteristics of a decline in family values, and an increase in both loneliness and isolation. Later, he looks at the labor-participation rate today as compared to that of many years ago. The conclusion is heart-shattering.
In my own opinion, I believe what the modern church may be missing is that work with purpose may be the best medicine to prevent depression. It may be the best antidote, far exceeding anti-depressants and therapy. Certainly, work is not the answer to every problem, but we need to reevaluate its critical importance in the arena of mental health. I think the modern church has relegated work to a material necessity which is juxtaposed to what is considered the higher realm of true spirituality. This is contradictory to the purpose of the creation of man in Genesis which was to work in a material world.
- Work is Not the Curse in Genesis
After the Fall, childbearing for the woman became very difficult, however, children were not the curse of God but the pain in labor was the curse. Children are a blessing. Likewise, after the Fall work became accompanied by the sweat of the brow, thorns, and thistles. However, work itself was not a curse, but rather the sweat, the thorns, and the thistles were the curse. Work was given to provide man with purpose, identity, and dignity. Redemption in Christ restores that purpose given before the Fall.
God created man to first work, not to worship. Work was the beginning of his worship. Work must not be viewed as a utilitarian instrument (for example, a means to give more to the church), but work itself is a holy ministry toward others in that work is producing goods and services that provide for the needs, comfort, and joy of others. Again, in my opinion, if the first half of the 4th commandment (working six days) received as much attention as the second half (resting one day), then the kingdom of God would be greatly advanced.
- What About the Clergy Work Ethic?
I will not say much about this theme. Indeed, most pastors are hard-working men, but in some circles, slackness is becoming a problem. The change in church structure often leaves men preaching almost half the time during the week as compared to their ministerial forefathers. The larger the church the greater the temptation. The title of this chapter in his book is “Pouting Pulpits & Part-time Pastors.”
- The Retirement Disaster
David calls retirement a 30-year vacation. For some of us who could not retire until age 65, it could be viewed more as 10-year to15-year vacation. Yes, people do need to slow down as they get older, but to stop working can be a bad as death itself. I could never stop working. I think I work as much today (in my late 70’s) as I ever did.
Many years ago, there were no retirement plans. You retire when you died. Today, work is for the purpose of “getting to the point you do not have to work.” Although the modern world has created many blessings that allow us to live longer and heathier, the loss of older men in the workforce is also the loss of wisdom and mentorship in the workforce. David believes this is a great loss.
- The Problem with the Virtual (Home) Workplace
Although this topic is included as an appendix in the Book, David’s views on working from home as opposed to going to the office are interesting. He is against it. You may not agree with him on this, but he makes several good points.
In conclusion, I have only covered a few parts of the main points in his Book. I have not even touched on his excellent analysis of how successful Chirstian men deal with the envy of others, or how a Christian man of wealth may be tempted to wallow in guilt because of his success. My goal is to just give you enough bait to catch your attention.
To get the rest of the story, I do highly recommend this book. It would be an excellent source for a Bible Study, especially for men. Our view of work is very important since we do so much of it. The book contains much wisdom which David himself has gained over the years as he went from working in a movie theatre at 15 years of age to a multi-billion-dollar financial advisor. Being raised in the home of a preacher and scholar who was shunned by so many of his own colleagues teaches a son a great deal too. You need to buy the book and work at reading it.
Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.