“You’re out there doing things for God, and I’m just here teaching English.” 

Sally’s words shocked Carolyn, who knew how much her friend’s ​“secular” teaching work infused the goodness of God into the world.

If you’re like Sally or me, you’ll catch yourself at some point thinking some jobs are holier than others. The truth — and may God give us grace to believe it — is that all good work done in Jesus’ name is sacred. 

This week we continue to swim in the Incarnational Tradition by looking at how to do our work, whether it be preaching or plumbing, with God and for God. 

Perhaps the most striking piece is a classic essay from Dorothy Sayers. I’m still pondering it. Taking it to heart would change the way I approach my own work and how I talk to my kids about what they want to do.

See, I have this vague fear that if I get lost in my work and forget I’m serving others, I miss the point. (This is a good reminder that vague fears need to be put into words and examined with the help of the Holy Spirit!) Yet, Sayers proposes the opposite: 

“There is, in fact, a paradox about working to serve the community, and it is this: that to aim directly at serving the community is to falsify the work; the only way to serve the community is to forget the community and serve the work.” 

(There’s a lot behind that quote. I encourage you to read the rich context in the essay.)

And you know what? When I think about it, my best work came out of total immersion in the work, creating with God ​“in the zone.” Remarkably, that’s also the work others have found most helpful. 

There’s much to ponder here. Thankfully the Teacher is present with us to help us think rightly about it all, and to give us grace while we learn.