My previous blog post explored two kinds of work as described in the Bible, which I defined as Life-work (working for the food of eternal life, which is Jesus) and dust-work (working for perishable food, such as bread and butter).
Today's blog post illustrates each of these through St Paul, who served Christ as an apostle and supported himself financially through his tentmaking trade. I also seek to clarify the relationship between Life-work and dust-work, especially how the lines can blur.
As I described last week, Life-work begins with believing in Jesus (John 6:29), which means knowing and belonging to him as our Lord and our God (John 20:28). When we believe in Jesus, he gives us the Holy Spirit to empower us to do Life-work (John 7:38-39).
St Paul's belief in Jesus came quite suddenly and unexpectedly. As a Pharisee, St Paul (formerly called Saul) had once persecuted Christians, arresting them and consenting to some of their deaths. However, on a journey to Damascus, Christ visited him in a blinding flash of light, saying, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' (Acts 9:4).
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| St Paul on the road to Damascus |
St Paul had a steep learning curve, but he hit the ground running, and with other believers, he served as Christ's witness to the people Christ sent him to. His Life-work involved teaching in synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God (see Acts 9:20); performing miracles in Jesus' name (e.g. 14:8-10); and travelling throughout Asia minor and the Mediterranean, persuading Jews and Gentiles to believe in Jesus (17:16-34) and strengthening communities in the Way of Christ (13:13-14:28), just to give a few examples.
Although St Paul had left behind his Pharisaic dust-work to do apostolic Life-work, he still needed to financially support himself and his companions. This he did through dust-working as a tentmaker.
The flexibility of freelance tentmaking enabled St Paul to earn his keep while travelling and preaching. Through his trade, he also built networks that supported his ministry. For example, in Corinth, he formed a business partnership with two other tentmakers named Aquila and Priscilla, presumably also believers in Jesus, who then became his companions in missionary work (Acts 18:1-3; 18).
Thus, tentmaking wasn't only for earning bread. St Paul used his dust-work as a tool to enable him to do Life-work.
Perhaps even more surprising, his dust-work itself became a form of ministry, as I will next explain.
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| St Aquila, St Priscilla and St Paul |
During St Paul's two years in Ephesus, the book of Acts tells us, 'God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them' (19:11).
Such handkerchiefs and aprons, according to scholars, were used by tradespeople in those days for wiping sweat off their faces and protecting their clothes while working (the same is true today). Likely, St Paul used these items regularly in his manual work, so it seems that in the midst of tentmaking, his work objects were used to heal people from illnesses and evil spirits, resulting in many more people turning to Christ.
The phrase ‘even handkerchiefs and aprons’ implies that there were more significant objects in St Paul’s toolbox, so if God used such minor details, then how much more did he transform the rest of St Paul's tentmaking work!
In other words, St Paul's dust-work became Life-work. God breathed the Holy Spirit into St Paul's tentmaking, making it a source of life.
How did these miracles happen? I believe it was St Paul's relationship with Christ that transformed his handkerchiefs and aprons--indeed, every aspect of his life. St Paul preached not only in synagogues or town squares; his whole life, including his tentmaking, was a sermon that spoke of God's mercy and love (see Acts 20:34-35 and 1 Thess. 2:8-9).
Everything he did, from preaching to travelling to tentmaking, belonged to Christ. As St Paul writes to servants (and which applies to workers of any kind), 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving' (Col. 3:23-24).
Through serving Christ in all things, St Paul blurred the lines between dust-work and Life-work. This shows that it's pointless to try and determine whether work is Life-work or dust-work based on a job title, whether tentmaker, joiner, administrator, medical or care worker, farmer, teacher, parent or other roles. Rather, Life-work is determined by whether the work belongs to Christ.
Through our relationship with Christ, God can use our work to bring healing and life to others.
Unlike St Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons, I can't say that any of my proofreading/editing objects, such as my laptop and USB keyboard, have healed anyone. Still, this leads me to ask how my dust-work can become life-giving, even to a small degree.
I offer the following questions, mostly specific to my work, in hope that you may recognise parallel questions for your circumstances.
How can my editing comments encourage and inspire my clients, especially when their writing is personal and sensitive? How can I challenge my clients to write to their best ability? How can I support their efforts at communicating ideas that may influence other people for good? Does my communication and work with colleagues reflect Christ's mercy?
Most importantly, in whatever I do, do I work at it with all my heart, knowing that it is the Lord Christ I am serving?
To conclude, as shown in St Paul's life, our calling is to belong to Christ to the point that everything we do--even the most seemingly insignificant act--also belongs to Christ, thus making it Life-work.
The phrase ‘even handkerchiefs and aprons’ implies that there were more significant objects in St Paul’s toolbox, so if God used such minor details, then how much more did he transform the rest of St Paul's tentmaking work!
In other words, St Paul's dust-work became Life-work. God breathed the Holy Spirit into St Paul's tentmaking, making it a source of life.
How did these miracles happen? I believe it was St Paul's relationship with Christ that transformed his handkerchiefs and aprons--indeed, every aspect of his life. St Paul preached not only in synagogues or town squares; his whole life, including his tentmaking, was a sermon that spoke of God's mercy and love (see Acts 20:34-35 and 1 Thess. 2:8-9).
Everything he did, from preaching to travelling to tentmaking, belonged to Christ. As St Paul writes to servants (and which applies to workers of any kind), 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving' (Col. 3:23-24).
Through serving Christ in all things, St Paul blurred the lines between dust-work and Life-work. This shows that it's pointless to try and determine whether work is Life-work or dust-work based on a job title, whether tentmaker, joiner, administrator, medical or care worker, farmer, teacher, parent or other roles. Rather, Life-work is determined by whether the work belongs to Christ.
Through our relationship with Christ, God can use our work to bring healing and life to others.
Unlike St Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons, I can't say that any of my proofreading/editing objects, such as my laptop and USB keyboard, have healed anyone. Still, this leads me to ask how my dust-work can become life-giving, even to a small degree.
I offer the following questions, mostly specific to my work, in hope that you may recognise parallel questions for your circumstances.
How can my editing comments encourage and inspire my clients, especially when their writing is personal and sensitive? How can I challenge my clients to write to their best ability? How can I support their efforts at communicating ideas that may influence other people for good? Does my communication and work with colleagues reflect Christ's mercy?
Most importantly, in whatever I do, do I work at it with all my heart, knowing that it is the Lord Christ I am serving?
To conclude, as shown in St Paul's life, our calling is to belong to Christ to the point that everything we do--even the most seemingly insignificant act--also belongs to Christ, thus making it Life-work.
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