Sometimes our theology is more shaped by our context than we might realise. Take for example your view on the place of work in the Christian life.
Two Observed Approaches
Two Observed Approaches
My own background is that I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney from which many people commuted to the CBD of Sydney. This was then often a journey of more than an hour each way. It takes even longer now. However, many are willing to spend the time for the joy of spending the weekend in a beachside paradise. An observer might conclude that the philosophy is simple: you work (during the week) in order to live (on the weekend). “Life” therefore is something that happens when work is over.
Many of my friends who grew up on the Northern Beaches now live on the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, or other outer suburbs. Their attitude to where they now live reflects something of their Northern Beaches upbringing. They too are happy to commute for the sake of a particular lifestyle outside of their work. Those who don’t commute happily take lower paid work in order to live where they live.
We might contrast this with the shift in our cities where people are now moving into the ‘inner ring’ of our cities (i.e. within 5 kilometres from the CBD) or even within the CBD itself. For such people, work and leisure all happen in the same place—work, friendship, leisure and social life are highly interconnected. For them, “life” and work are not dichotomised. They like living in the city. It is not just a place to put up with because it’s close to work. Their leisure is more likely to involve arts and cultural activities near where they live and while these city dwellers might “escape” from the city from time to time, this is a break from the normal place where they are happy to enjoy life.
Reflections on Two Approaches to Work and the Christian Life
Reflections on Two Approaches to Work and the Christian Life
Both groups mentioned above tend to approach the question of work and the Christian life quite differently.
In the outer suburbs the rhetoric is often, “Try to work less, so that you give more time to ministry.” In such thinking, ministry is seen as something that happens outside of work and while it would always be acknowledged that there is a place for evangelism in the workplace, there is a tendency to see ministry as something focussed on the place where you live; your church, your neighbourhood, your family, and your leisure activities. Evangelism in non-work social settings is seen as strategic.
In the CBD, where work and social life are more connected geographically and relationally, Christians are much more likely to emphasize work as a place to serve God. The workplace is not only a mission field but also work itself is a way to serve the community in which I live and do good in it. Ministry and work happen in the same place. While it will be acknowledged that work can become an idol, such an approach does generally seem to contain a much more positive attitude to work and career.
The contrast between these two groups is most obvious when advocates of these two outlooks absolutise their relative positions. At times, CBD Christians accuse their outer suburban brothers and sisters of a sacred-secular divide where work is bad and ministry (at church) is the only place to serve God. Outer suburbans might respond by suspecting their opponents of justifying their love of career by their theology. One group emphasize the high view of the church and church ministry in the New Testament. The other group emphasize that Christian worship is the way we serve God in every aspect of life.
Both groups want to take the theological high ground, claiming to have the biblical position. However, there is a tendency for neither group to recognise just how culturally conditioned their positions are. If this was understood, the potential for both groups to learn from each other is significant.
Craig Tucker blogs for the Geneva Church Planting network, this article first appeared on his Geneva Blog: https://genevapush.com/blogs/tucker
