Well, this will be short and sweet! 🙂 (If you know me, you are somewhat doubtful right now…)
I am heading out tomorrow morning early with the Women of Hope team for our annual strategic planning retreat. This will be a working retreat, but we are going to be incorporating a lot of spiritual formation elements and time into the 3-day weekend. Which, I think, is as it should be. There are certainly times for straight-up retreats – and just getting away from our work and the daily grind. Those are absolutely essential – and we typically don’t do it enough. But I also think that a Biblical view of work should have the flavor of worship on a day-to-day basis. I have a little sign hanging above my desk at work that says, “Rest is found in offering up our work as worship.” I find that to be true. And I find it to be a good litmus test as well. On the days when my work feels like anything BUT worship, it is probably an indicator that I need a realignment.
One oft-repeated error that we fall into theologically, is that work came as a result of the fall. After all, it was while God was pronouncing the curse that he mentioned toiling the ground to get food with thorns and thistles hampering your progress. And so often, people get the idea that if Adam and Eve had never sinned, they would have been sitting around naked on soft palettes of grass and flowers eating bon-bons which fell into their hands from magically delicious trees. But it was in Genesis 1 – before everything went horribly awry, that the “dominion mandate” was given to the first couple. They were to take dominion over all creation, working the garden and caring for all the creatures and foliage. But with the Fall, that work became toilsome and laborious and full of pain and suffering (for humans, and for the creation – turns out we’re not really very good stewards…). The earth was cursed as a result of sin, making our work hard. But work itself is what we were designed for – taking dominion over all creation. And when we realize that it is what we were designed for, it takes on an entirely new perspective. It can be worship – if we are in the place that God has planned for us, and our hearts are right. That doesn’t erase the “toilsome” part – in any occupational setting! But it does give us another way to look at what we’re doing. And this does not apply to “full-time ministry” settings only! This applies to staying home with kids, serving fast food, managing a laundromat, crunching corporate numbers, planning programs, evaluating data, or ANYTHING the Lord places before you. It’s all for Him.
So, for three days, our team will be worshiping, praying, planning and laughing (maybe even crying? hard to say…) together, as we offer up our work as worship and integrate all that we are in one wholistic offering of praise. Please pray for us if you read this on Friday. We’ll be together through Saturday.
Just a note as well, after many, many hours of attempts, I have finally managed to create a sign-up form for these Contemplative Activist reflections. So if you have a friend that you think would enjoy this journey, send them over to my website, and they can sign up there. You can also catch my blog there. I’m not super regular, but you can catch some past posts if you like. (It’s a New Year’s resolution every year to be more consistent – and I finally gave up resolving that. Some day…) Also, if your email is coming in all weird and scootched over to the side – I’m really, really sorry, and I have no idea what to do about it! 🙁
May your work be worship,
Kim