One particular article entitled The Meaning of Business caught my attention. The article was actually an interview with Jeff Van Duzer, a Christian businessman with a recent IVP book out entitled Why Business Matters to God: (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed).
Having unexpectantly found myself in the corporate world after settling back in to Richmond, the article caught my attention for the same reason it might have caught yours if you work in business:
I want someone to tell me that work in this environment matters. I want someone to explain why it matters not just so that I can support missionaries with my income or testify in the marketplace to God's truth, but because work, any type of work, matters to God. As stated in the article, God fashioned man in His image, and even in this act we see an aspect of God's character fundamental to the point: He's a worker.
To be fair, the church has made leaps and bounds as a whole in articulating a theology of work for its congregants, but the challenge lies in actually living out this celebration of vocation, both personally and corporately. We hear teaching about the intrinsic worth of every profession as it contributes to God's restorative work in the world, but this concept hasn't seemed to have pried its way into the daily lexicon of the church yet. Truth be told, employment in a field other than ministry or public service seems second rate, and as is hip to say in the corporate world, our greatest opportunity (or area of current floundering) lies in actually believing employment in the business world to be gainful in God's eyes.
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