November 2, 2025 • 30 mins
What if your job—loved or loathed—could become worship? We pull back the curtain on a bigger, better story of work, starting with Genesis 2 where God places humanity in the garden “to work and keep” it. Before the fall, work is a gift; after the fall, it’s harder; through Christ, it’s redeemed. That shift reframes how we see our careers, chores, parenting, and church service. We talk about telling a truer story over our work so our attitude, effort, and integrity reflect God’s character rather than our fluctuating feelings.
Cody Hall joins us to trace a path away from two traps: work-as-identity and work-avoidance. If your worth rides the waves of promotion and performance, time and fear will betray the idol beneath the surface. If apathy has you doing the bare minimum, love for neighbor calls you higher. We dive into practical diagnostics—follow your hours, inventory your anxieties—and a gospel remedy: rest your identity in Christ so you can labor with freedom. That means you can be promoted without pride, laid off without despair, and steady in the ordinary tasks that keep your world running.
We also get honest about the home as our first field of labor. Paychecks don’t replace presence. We share simple practices for starting the “second shift” at the front door—prayer for strength, undistracted attention, small acts of service that say “I see you.” From pushing carts to leading teams, from engineering safer streets to sweeping hallways, every task can love your neighbor and honor God when done with excellence and joy. And beyond personal vocation, we aim our energy at the body of Christ, building up the church by the Spirit as we wait with hope. Listen in, reimagine your daily work, and take one step toward worship-filled labor today. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review—what’s the first change you’ll make this week?
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Intro music by Joey Blair
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:22):
It's a retro episode.
So it's good to be back.
But Nate, what's up, man?
You doing all right?
Man, it's on the podcast.
So it's a great day.
Always a good day when there'sMike in front of us, right?
That's right.
And then we also have Cody Hall,one of our elders, uh, one of my
one of my best friends.
Glad to glad to be here, bro.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:42):
It's such a blessing.
Been here before.
SPEAKER_03 (00:44):
And it's the second, third.
You know, we got to keep theelder.
We got like a scoreboard in ouroffice for uh who's been here
the most.
Mitch and Jason or Leadon.
We got to get you on here.
Yeah, I gotta step up and start.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
No, this is my second.
Second?
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Are you sure?
I'm sure.
Man.
All right.
You're thinking back to our oldold days.
SPEAKER_02 (01:01):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
That was us.
Yeah.
We used to have a podcast backin the day.
Yeah.
That was old, old days.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (01:08):
All right.
Well, Cody, you got to make somemore time for us.
We got to make some more forall.
For sure.
I enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01 (01:13):
It's a blessing.
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
Yeah.
And so we've been in uh as youguys know, uh, and then as the
listeners really haven't haveseen and known, um, that we've
been in a faith with differentright throughout the year, just
we're working through differenttopics.
And uh last month we covered wehope, right?
And we talked, uh, me and Natesat down and just talked about
what it means to hope in theLord and and whatnot.
And then this week we're gonnawalk through We Work, right?
And Cody uh preached and uh justreally got to talk through what
(01:37):
it means to to work, right, in away that honors God and in all
different areas of your life.
And so um, yeah, we're glad thatyou're on and we're we're
excited to kind of talk a littlebit more about what that looks
like uh in this in this lens.
SPEAKER_03 (01:46):
Yeah, and so new month, new topic.
It's always exciting, and yeah,so especially we work, you know,
we're kind of close to the endof the year, but really an
important topic, you know.
We were talking a little bitbefore we jumped on the mics,
how there's so manymisconceptions of work and what
it really means in the Bible.
So just yeah, reflecting on thesermon, uh, maybe kind of share
(02:09):
your heart, you know, as youkind of thought about work
biblically and you know, reallywhat you want people to know in
and kind of bringing a lot ofyour points together.
SPEAKER_01 (02:19):
Yeah, as I was preparing, it was hard for me to
really focus in because we knowthat God works in manifold ways.
There are so many ways in whichGod works on our be our behalf,
our benefit as the children ofGod.
And so I wanted to honor thistopic and honor Him in preaching
on it.
And so I covered a wide array ofthings, and uh it really begins
(02:45):
with the work that God has donethrough Christ for us, and and
in light of that, then how doesthat stir our affection, change
our hearts, change our desires,and and recognizing that work
was a gift given to us by Godbefore the fall?
It was something God has alwaysbeen working, right?
(03:06):
Jesus says that my Father isalways working, and I am
working.
Um and so thinking how that thenapplies to our lives, I wanted
to give uh a wide net to catchall of our work and kind of
touch on each aspect from thework that we do in our personal
walk with Christ and the waythat we desire after God and
(03:30):
pursue God through studying hisword, through praying to him,
through listening to him, andand then how that spills out
into the home.
And the work that we do in thehome is of first importance, and
how we, as our heart is broughtinto order, it then begins to
order our home rightly.
And and that's desperatelyneeded in a world that's plagued
(03:52):
with brokenness, fatherlessness,on and on.
And then from there, how ourwork then spills out into the
field of labor, the vocationalfield, where we are all so
uniquely gifted by God, andwe're to use those gifts for
first and foremost, God's gloryto honor Him in the way that we
(04:15):
worked with the integrity, withthe honesty, with the vigilance
of our work.
But then also how our work is tolove our neighbor, it's to serve
our neighbor and their needs.
And I think that when you tellyourself the right story, I
talked about it in the sermon,the story you tell yourself
about your work will determinehow you approach your work,
(04:36):
it'll determine your attitude inyour work.
And then from there, you know,the greatest work that we have
in this life is that of buildingup the body of Christ.
And God has given us his church,and we are to labor well for the
purification and the beauty ofthe church of Christ.
And we labor in that uh by theSpirit as we await his coming.
(05:02):
So that's where I went, andyeah, it was it was a blessed
time of preparation for me, andI I pray that it it served the
congregation well.
SPEAKER_03 (05:11):
And a whole lot to unpack there, you know.
I think good summary for sure,but maybe just even start with
the Genesis 2 concept.
I think a lot of people missthat biblically, that work was
before the fall.
Like we are created to work, youknow, there are implications of
the fall, but too many peopleare like, well, I only work
because of, and I think that canbe a misconception probably of
(05:33):
what heaven's gonna be like,everybody thinks it's gonna be
like laying on a beach, youknow, kind of thing.
But maybe kind of through yourstudy, you know, how we
biblically how does that changethings how as believers and and
what we understand about ourcreator and us as the creation?
SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
Yeah, I think that it's one of those things that
when you really begin tounderstand the the verbs there
to work and to keep, that'sGenesis 2, 15, where the Lord
takes the man, puts him in thegarden, and tells him to work
and keep the garden.
And and those two words are usedlater in discussing the the work
of the priests in the tabernacleand how they are to work and
(06:13):
keep the tabernacle.
And uh that that connectionthere gives us the the important
foundation for our work asworship.
So it it absolutely was beforethe fall.
God didn't give us work as apunishment, right?
We we look at Genesis 3 and wesee that work certainly was
(06:34):
affected in the fall, it wascursed.
The ground now works against us,thorns and thistles rise up from
the ground, but work was amandate before the fall, and it
was a mandate because we werecreated in God's image, and so
being made in the image of Godand knowing that our God worked
to make creation, it was on theseventh day that he rested, but
(06:57):
he was working during those sixdays to bring about all
creation, and therefore, as ourcreator, we owe everything to
him.
He made everything, and he madeit and it was good.
And he made us then in his imageto be stewards of that good
creation.
And so that is uh is not takenaway in the fall, it is made
(07:21):
more difficult.
But the mandate still is on usto work.
God assumes in the curse that wewill work, it will just be more
difficult for us, but yet inChrist, in his coming, in his
redemption, now we begin tojoyfully work again as unto the
Lord.
Now we work for somethingeternal.
(07:41):
And and so just as the Father isalways working even to now to
uphold the universe by the powerof his word, so we now in all of
our days are spent working forhis sake.
SPEAKER_03 (07:53):
Yeah, and a lot of good things, I think, too, from
being just reminded, God's a Godof order, not chaos.
I mean, every all the creation,like you talked about, was
bringing order from creation.
I mean, it was obviously fromnothing, but then ordering that.
And you know, sin works againstit, but we should approach our
work the same way.
Whatever you do, because somepeople think like, oh, I just
(08:15):
work at a restaurant or maybe Ijust drive, you know, yeah, I
don't diminish any job.
You should be bringing order inin the work that you do.
And I was kind of taught young,leave it better than you found
it, right?
You know, no matter what you do,whatever job you have that you
come into, improve it.
Do something to make it better.
(08:35):
And especially as believers, Iwould say, you know, kind of
what you're talking about, weshould be bringing that order
from chaos as image bearers.
That's what we're created to do,and viewing our work that way.
Like I was in engineering for along time.
I'm trying to get people homefaster, you know, more efficient
transportation systems, safer,you know.
What are we doing to improve thecreation?
But like you said, sin fightsagainst that, and we can get
(08:58):
kind of demoralized about it, Ithink.
SPEAKER_02 (09:00):
Right.
But yeah, I I think too, likethinking of that and just the
aspect of work and just how Ithink often people feel that way
because of the way that workfeels, right?
Like the way when you walkthrough work, especially a job
that you don't I I think I'm I'mthinking vocation specifically.
I I think right now, um, I thinkit's hard to feel like, man,
this is able to be done to theglory of God because I hate what
(09:21):
I do.
Right.
It's not the thing that I ampassionate about or X, Y, and Z.
Um, but I think in even in spiteof that, I think the the goal
is, and what I think of firstCorinthians 10, first
Corinthians 10 31, right?
Whatever you do.
Right.
And then Paul says, What whetheryou eat or whether you drink,
but whatever you do, beingwhether you work or whether you
sit or whether you stand orwhatever the thing is, do it all
to the glory of God, right?
(09:42):
And that's I think the same kindof concept that you're that
you're pointing out is man,whatever we do, and that you
listed many, right?
All of those things in which wedo are to be done to the glory
of God.
And so, man, you might, yeah,like you might push cards at
Target and you might hate it,but man, leave it better than
you found it and do that work tothe glory of God.
Or you might be a top-notch CEO,right?
Where you get to have theperfect job that you feel like
(10:02):
is is the best.
Like do that to the glory of Godas well.
And I think they each come withtheir own struggle, but I think
it's hard to rightly see workwhen we don't rightly like our
work.
You know what I mean?
Like, does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01 (10:13):
Yeah, for sure.
I think I'm someone who saysthat all of our problems are
inherently theological problems.
Yeah.
And so I think the more that wehave a good understanding of God
and his nature, then that givesus the understanding necessary
to uh steward well the thingsthat he's given to us.
They're all his creation.
And so, like we said, work ishis creation, therefore he has a
(10:35):
purpose for work in our lives.
And so as we look at God and hisomnipotence and his sovereignty
and his wisdom, then yeah, ourour pushing carts at the grocery
store is not meaningless.
Yeah, that is used as a means ofserving our neighbor.
It's an important work, it's nota meaningless work.
Just because it's menial to you,it doesn't mean that it's
(10:57):
meaningless to God.
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:59):
And it's it's used in a way that can glorify God.
If someone does that in a waythat is joyful, in a way that is
uh purposely loving, then howcan God not be glorified in
something like that?
Yeah.
And so I think where we fallinto temptation to sin is when
we become the determiners ofwhat is important in God's eyes,
(11:22):
and we say, well, because I'mnot doing this big thing, this
really important thing in myeyes, yeah, therefore it doesn't
have value.
SPEAKER_00 (11:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
But First Corinthians 15 says that all of
our labor in the Lord is not invain.
That's right.
Therefore, that touches thebroad spectrum, the universal
spectrum of work, that all of itmatters to the Lord and can be
used to accomplish his purposes.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:45):
I mean, I I remember being in those situations,
right?
Like, yeah, I mean, just theaspect of working jobs that I
didn't necessarily want to work,but I didn't necessarily even
like working in them, right?
But they were jobs that I was Ihad at the moment, right?
And that was gonna be the goal.
Was like, man, whatever I do,I'm gonna do it in a way that
loves the people around me, andI'm gonna do it in a way that's
(12:07):
excellent so that when peoplesee the me, they see a
reflection of our excellent God,right?
And just how he is perfect inall of his ways.
And so I'm gonna strive to toglorify him in those areas.
And it it I did bound, like Idid struggle with that concept
of like, man, what I feel calledto do, I'm not doing right now.
Right.
So I got to figure out what thatmeans and what that looks like,
right?
I mean, I I can think of so manytimes me and you, Cody, just sat
(12:28):
and like, dude, I hate this, butlike this is the benefit, right?
That like, yeah, I'm deliveringAmazon packages and I'm like
working in in snow and cold, andI don't like that, but like,
man, what what do I how do I getto do that in a way that brings
glory to God?
And I think a lot of our youngadults, uh dealing with young
adults and Cody who serve in ourministry, like are in that same
season.
And I think not just youngadults, but I think a lot of
(12:48):
people, yeah, they just dothings because they have to pay
the bill or they have to uh youknow funnel in some way that
this work.
And uh I think their perspectiveis different.
I think it's a perspective shiftof like, man, I'm not I'm not
seeing this as a burden, but asa blessing.
And that man, as I get to dothis, I'm gonna do it to the
best of my ability, right?
Knowing that God has desiredthat for me, but also for his
(13:11):
glory.
SPEAKER_03 (13:12):
That's right.
So I think those experiences aresuper valuable too.
We're in a yeah, adolescence andthings is like kind of delaying
work in a lot of our society,you know, not to get tangential,
but I say kind of backing upwhat you were saying.
Like I've been a janitor, I'vewaited tables, I've worked as a
you know, concession stand, youknow, I've been a construction
(13:33):
worker.
I value those experiencesbecause I value those jobs now
because I've done them.
And like doing that workprovides a lot of perspective,
you know, that there is nothingyou're above and there's value
to we need all those things.
So super important.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
Yeah, and we look to Christ as the example, right?
Yeah, Christ is the king of theuniverse, and he humbled himself
and came in the form of aservant.
Yeah.
And therefore, it dishonors Godwhen we're not willing to go
low.
SPEAKER_00 (13:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:00):
When we think that we deserve more, should have
more, are worth more, then thatdishonors God as the giver of
all good things.
Yeah.
Um, and so yeah, I think backsometimes of the previous jobs I
had before I was saved, and I Ikind of long to redeem those
things.
I'm like, man, if Kmart wasstill open, I'd get a job there
(14:22):
and I would work like no oneworked before.
It's old school right there.
Yeah.
Unfortunately, they're all gone.
I outlasted them.
So um yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, and and listen, Iremember like I remember, I
mean, think you mentionedjanitor.
I mean, I remember being onstaff here at Lifehouse as the I
think I was a facilitiesassistant, was my title.
And just the countless months ofman, this sucks.
Like, this is not what I I havegreat, I had great bosses.
I it wasn't the people, it wasthe the work, right?
(14:51):
I I am in essence had this ideathat I was quote unquote worth
more.
I should have been doing more.
I I was able, I should have hadmore responsibility, whatever
the thing was, right?
That was kind of guarding my uhor changing my perspective.
Um, I remember that thatfeeling, right?
But as you said, Nate, like,man, one, God met me there and
(15:11):
changed my perspective that willlast me until I die, right?
Like, really, like just theaspect of contentment in in the
Lord.
And if I can't be content inthis, I'll never be content in
anything that I do.
He gave me that there, right?
And they were, but I think uh,and you you mentioned Nate is
like the the refining periods ofeach job that like as we walk
into each thing, it might be thebest thing we walk into or the
(15:32):
worst thing we walk intowork-wise, and but we get to do
it knowing that it's refining usright for the the the next
moment, right?
Like for me, that janitorcustodian job that then refined
me in a place that I was able tomove into connections, but I was
able to then be able to handletaking on a different role, uh,
one with more responsibility andmore uh you know different
(15:55):
areas.
And then even now into youngadults is like I if I didn't do
that and God didn't meet me inthat place and shift my
perspective and my heart tosolely focus on Him in light of
whatever work I did, then Iwould never be able to do what I
do now.
But like without that, that'snot possible.
It's just God.
SPEAKER_01 (16:11):
Yeah, yeah.
And I always say the providenceof God is best read backwards
because we get to look back, andeach of those things was
crucially important in heartformation.
Yeah, the Lord used each ofthose things, and at the time,
yeah, they were difficult towalk through.
We probably felt like we weredreaming of the next thing, but
there is an importance to everyaspect of your life, every
(16:33):
moment of your life.
God works in the ordinary,right?
And so I think where we run intotrouble is when our vocation
becomes attached to ouridentity.
Yeah.
And I talked about this a littlebit in the sermon, but um, I
think it's worth bearing outhere that you know our
attachment of our identity toour vocation is a dangerous
(16:55):
game.
Yeah, because when you are doingwell and succeeding, it becomes
drunk and or you become drunkwith success.
Yeah.
And and that's a uh a disastrousthing for yourself personally,
it's a disastrous thing forfamilies.
We've seen how workaholism candestroy families, um, it can
(17:16):
neglect the family.
Um and and as you succeed, iteither puffs you up with pride,
but when you fail, it drives youto the lowest of despairs.
And and likewise, when you maketoo little of your vocation
then, and you become sort oflazy, indifferent, apathetic,
(17:38):
then you dishonor God byrefusing to participate in the
way that He has designed you,um, in the work that He's given
to you.
You're basically neglecting Him,saying, No good, or no thanks,
God, I'm good.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (17:52):
Yeah.
I think you do a good job reallylaying out the extremes, you
know, each side of how we shouldfaithfully look at it.
So maybe unpacking, you know, wecertainly it's kind of
interesting we've gone from aculture that was very elevating
work, which is still out there,like you said, to where kind of
sliding to where, you know,through the worth work-life
(18:12):
balance thing and we're makingvery little of it, but maybe
start with, like you said, whengood things become ultimate
things, when our work becomesour identity and above God,
maybe talk a little bit morethrough the dangers.
How do you recognize if that'shappening?
You know, people may be kind offocused in that, have family
members.
How should we kind of deal withthat a little bit?
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
Yeah, I think one of the best ways that we can
identify idols in our own heartsis to two avenues.
One to follow our time.
Where are we putting our time?
Um, and I I I talked about it,you know, I I'm always astounded
at so-called Christians givingGod two percent of their time.
(18:57):
And they give so much ofthemselves to so many other
things.
Well, that's just me throwing anumber out there.
There's no there's no sciencebes behind that number.
SPEAKER_03 (19:10):
Um, but that's just I didn't know if you'd done it
like seven days a week.
On average, you're awake like16, 17 hours, so there's a
hundred and something hours,maybe you spend an hour or two
in church.
I didn't know if you had a gooduh, but it's about right.
You know, we we'll tithe ourmoney, but and I was that way
for a long time.
Like, oh yeah, Lord, I'll put10% in the offer, but don't ask
me to do anything other thanSunday morning.
So sorry, I mean yeah, or eventhat.
SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
Don't ask me to give 10.2%.
It's we we are unfortunatelyminimalists at times um when
really I think that if you havetruly tasted and seen the glory
of God, yeah, then your heartcan't help but want more of him.
And you know, we're we'recreatures of desire and we
(19:53):
pursue the things that we love.
And so I think how we see thatplay out with vocation and work
is that uh, like I said, youfollow the where you're
investing your time, you'll findthe idol there.
And often for a someone who is aworkaholic, they will spend
(20:14):
exorbitant amounts of time um toadvance so uh in their career,
uh, to gain promotion, tothey'll job hop from this to
that, just seeking for more andadvancement, promotion, none of
it's inherently bad.
Yeah, but it's when the desiresof your heart are after that
(20:36):
thing that you have now found anidol.
And also another way to find oneof your idols is through your
fears.
What do you fear?
Do you fear not being enough?
Do you fear that you're notcontributing enough?
Do you fear that people willthink less of you based on what
you do?
That is a good way to find anidol in your heart, um, is to
(20:58):
follow your fears and see, youknow, is my worth, my value
attached to what I do instead ofwho I am in Christ.
Because when when your identityis wrapped up in Christ, if you
are found in Christ, then youare grounded and found in
(21:21):
something that is eternal andunchanging and immovable.
And so therefore, you're nottossed to and fro by the the
winds of change, by the waves oftrial, or any of that.
You are fixed in Christ, andtherefore you can endure all
things.
You can be promoted well and doit to the glory of God, or you
(21:44):
can be laid off well and you canput your hope in God, knowing
that He has always provided foryou and He will continue to
provide.
And so I think uh it's importantfor each of us really to uh not
just pat ourselves on the backfor not being workaholics, but
also to consider are we workingin a way that honors God?
Are we working heartily as untothe Lord, or are we just doing
(22:07):
enough just to get by?
And uh yeah, I think the thestory you tell yourself again
will frame the way that youapproach vocation.
SPEAKER_03 (22:18):
Yeah, that's really good.
I think ways to examine yourheart and you know, really see
is this becoming an idol?
Am I becoming a workaholic?
I certainly came from a familythat work was kind of
everything.
My dad ran his own business andyou know, a lot of other things.
And so, and even after theydivorced, then my mom had to
work to so it was like you gottawork, you know, and it became
(22:38):
really an elevated thing that wehad to work through.
So that's the one extreme.
You're kind of starting to gointo it.
Now, how do we examine the otherend?
You know, like don't want towork, I'm kind of lazy about
this.
Like you already kind ofmentioned it, how that really
dishonors God.
Like, if we claim the name ofChrist, yet we're the laziest
person in you know theworkplace.
(22:58):
What does that say about us?
And how how does that extremekind of play out from our heart,
would you say in your study?
SPEAKER_01 (23:05):
Yeah, I would say that the the easiest way to
diagnose that would be inlooking at the way that you love
your neighbor um and and how yougo about pursuing loving your
neighbor, because to be lazy, tobe dependent uh unnecessarily on
(23:29):
a program or someone else isreally uh self-indulgent.
It is uh presumptuous andtherefore it's sinful because
you're presuming upon another'skindness, another's work,
another's labor, and thereforeyou're inherently sinning
(23:50):
against the Lord and againstthat person, and therefore
you're not loving that person.
And so I think that the thebiggest guard against uh
indifference and laziness willreally be to consider others,
right?
We're to consider one anotherand show honor to one another
and to love one another, butalso consider the way that God
(24:12):
has created.
He gives us examples inProverbs.
You know, consider the ant yousluggard.
Look at the way that it storesup in season.
And so we're to take inventoryof these things and let them
shape our heart to form ourhearts into uh working hearts
that work well for the sake ofthe other, right?
We see that all throughout thethe the Trinity, where God the
(24:36):
Father is working on behalf ofglorifying his son.
God the Son is working to bringglory to his Father, God the
Holy Spirit goes wherever hewills and works to bring men and
women to the Father as sons anddaughters, and they are
constantly working on ourbehalf.
(24:58):
And so I think that consideryour life and consider how am I
loving my neighbor with my work?
Can I say that I am loving myneighbor with my work?
Um, or am I being unnecessarilylazy in some ways?
Am I just showing up to my job,working to get it done, and then
(25:19):
coming home and letting that bemy moment of rest?
Or am I there laboring joyfullyfor the Lord and for my neighbor
and and shining the light ofChrist in the workplace?
SPEAKER_02 (25:33):
Yeah, I think that's good.
I kind of want to maybe shift alittle bit.
So sorry if I if I mess it up,but thinking about you mentioned
in one of your points how wework in the home, right?
And like how uh your family isthat first kind of priority of
work.
Um and I'm thinking about justas you kind of talked about
working and then you kind ofclack out and go home to rest,
I'm thinking about that balanceof then, man, okay, if if if
(25:56):
work in the home is my firstpriority, how then do I rightly
balance work in the workplace?
You know what I mean?
Like how do I do both well umand and and glorifying to the
Lord?
Like so caring for my family andmy children while also you know
running the race of doing work.
Maybe talk about that a littlebit and kind of your uh thoughts
(26:17):
on that.
SPEAKER_01 (26:18):
Yeah, uh it's one of those things that takes prayer,
great amount of prayer anddirection from the Lord, wisdom
from the Lord, wisdom from andcounsel from others to know how
to balance these things becauseit's not the same for every
family.
Um and so I think that it's oneof those things where uh if you
(26:41):
overwork yourself during the dayand then you get home and you
feel like I've just got nothingto give, yeah.
I I I I can't deal with thesekids right now, I can't deal
with this right now, then youare in a sinful path.
SPEAKER_02 (26:55):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:55):
Um, and you know, it's something that I learned
early on from a pastor that, youknow, he would get home every
day after laboring eight hours,nine hours uh at the church, and
he would pray before he wouldenter the door, Lord, strengthen
me, give me the strength to lovemy family well right now because
I just don't have it.
SPEAKER_00 (27:16):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:16):
And so I think that it's something that we have to
be so intentional about.
Um, you know, we are here to bespent for the sake of Christ.
God spent everything for us, andtherefore we should spend
ourselves for his sake and forhis glory.
Yeah.
And so knowing that there is noway to neglect our family and
(27:38):
honor God, we must, no matterhow hard we work at the office,
we must work equally or as orharder in the home.
We get home, you had a long day,you pray for the strength and
you get it done.
Go in, you love your familywell.
You let your wife and yourchildren know that you see them
and that you care for them andthat you are providing for them
(28:00):
more than just monetarily,because the last thing that kids
need is more money.
Yeah, they need affection,attention, love, and they need
to know that you see them, thatyou care for them.
Yeah, and and the same withwives and husbands.
You get home, let them know thatyou see them, that you care for
them, that it's more than justI'm providing, therefore, I've
(28:26):
done my job.
Yeah.
No, our job doesn't stop there.
Our job is to work unto the Lordin every arena.
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
Yeah, I heard someone say, and like it might
be the same person because Ifeel like I've heard that
before, but maybe you told methat.
But um, he will often say, like,when I get home, I'm just
starting my second shift.
That's right.
It just, it's just I'm I'm not,you know, clocking out, which is
often, I think, what you'resaying, like the temptation is
oh, I'm home, I kick my feet up,maybe go to the bedroom, hang
(28:53):
out, whatever.
But like, man, I'm just hitstarting my second shift, and
now I get to do work well byloving my family, loving my
wife.
SPEAKER_01 (29:00):
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (29:01):
Well, Cody, man, we appreciate you coming on.
I think so much more we couldeven say and go on for a long
time because it's seeing work inthe right light.
You know, something we knowwe're not saved by works, but
everything we've talked aboutwith creation and how we're to
view, not just our vocation.
So uh great stuff.
We'll give you the last word.
Anything to sum up for thelisteners uh for this episode as
(29:23):
we move into uh stories of howwe work.
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
Yeah, I would just encourage uh the listeners, you
know, consider your life,consider the work that Christ
has done for you and and letthat just wash over you,
meditate upon uh the work thathe's done and all that he has
purchased for us.
You know, he says, Come to meall who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
(29:49):
And and that rest is is so thatwe can, our souls can rest
finally.
And so we can come to him in ourweariness, in our tiredness.
And we can ask for strength, andhe will grant it by his grace.
And so, yeah, I would just askeveryone to consider their life
and where they uh can workheartily is unto the Lord.
SPEAKER_03 (30:13):
Thanks for tuning in to the Life Talk Podcast.
If this episode encouraged you,please be sure to like, comment,
subscribe, and leave a review soothers can find this content as
well.
And we'll look forward to seeingyou next Monday for another
great episode.
It's a retro episode.
So it's good to be back.
But Nate, what's up, man?
You doing all right?
Man, it's on the podcast.
So it's a great day.
Always a good day when there'sMike in front of us, right?
That's right.
And then we also have Cody Hall,one of our elders, uh, one of my
one of my best friends.
Glad to glad to be here, bro.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:42):
It's such a blessing.
Been here before.
SPEAKER_03 (00:44):
And it's the second, third.
You know, we got to keep theelder.
We got like a scoreboard in ouroffice for uh who's been here
the most.
Mitch and Jason or Leadon.
We got to get you on here.
Yeah, I gotta step up and start.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
No, this is my second.
Second?
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Are you sure?
I'm sure.
Man.
All right.
You're thinking back to our oldold days.
SPEAKER_02 (01:01):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
That was us.
Yeah.
We used to have a podcast backin the day.
Yeah.
That was old, old days.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (01:08):
All right.
Well, Cody, you got to make somemore time for us.
We got to make some more forall.
For sure.
I enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01 (01:13):
It's a blessing.
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
Yeah.
And so we've been in uh as youguys know, uh, and then as the
listeners really haven't haveseen and known, um, that we've
been in a faith with differentright throughout the year, just
we're working through differenttopics.
And uh last month we covered wehope, right?
And we talked, uh, me and Natesat down and just talked about
what it means to hope in theLord and and whatnot.
And then this week we're gonnawalk through We Work, right?
And Cody uh preached and uh justreally got to talk through what
(01:37):
it means to to work, right, in away that honors God and in all
different areas of your life.
And so um, yeah, we're glad thatyou're on and we're we're
excited to kind of talk a littlebit more about what that looks
like uh in this in this lens.
SPEAKER_03 (01:46):
Yeah, and so new month, new topic.
It's always exciting, and yeah,so especially we work, you know,
we're kind of close to the endof the year, but really an
important topic, you know.
We were talking a little bitbefore we jumped on the mics,
how there's so manymisconceptions of work and what
it really means in the Bible.
So just yeah, reflecting on thesermon, uh, maybe kind of share
(02:09):
your heart, you know, as youkind of thought about work
biblically and you know, reallywhat you want people to know in
and kind of bringing a lot ofyour points together.
SPEAKER_01 (02:19):
Yeah, as I was preparing, it was hard for me to
really focus in because we knowthat God works in manifold ways.
There are so many ways in whichGod works on our be our behalf,
our benefit as the children ofGod.
And so I wanted to honor thistopic and honor Him in preaching
on it.
And so I covered a wide array ofthings, and uh it really begins
(02:45):
with the work that God has donethrough Christ for us, and and
in light of that, then how doesthat stir our affection, change
our hearts, change our desires,and and recognizing that work
was a gift given to us by Godbefore the fall?
It was something God has alwaysbeen working, right?
(03:06):
Jesus says that my Father isalways working, and I am
working.
Um and so thinking how that thenapplies to our lives, I wanted
to give uh a wide net to catchall of our work and kind of
touch on each aspect from thework that we do in our personal
walk with Christ and the waythat we desire after God and
(03:30):
pursue God through studying hisword, through praying to him,
through listening to him, andand then how that spills out
into the home.
And the work that we do in thehome is of first importance, and
how we, as our heart is broughtinto order, it then begins to
order our home rightly.
And and that's desperatelyneeded in a world that's plagued
(03:52):
with brokenness, fatherlessness,on and on.
And then from there, how ourwork then spills out into the
field of labor, the vocationalfield, where we are all so
uniquely gifted by God, andwe're to use those gifts for
first and foremost, God's gloryto honor Him in the way that we
(04:15):
worked with the integrity, withthe honesty, with the vigilance
of our work.
But then also how our work is tolove our neighbor, it's to serve
our neighbor and their needs.
And I think that when you tellyourself the right story, I
talked about it in the sermon,the story you tell yourself
about your work will determinehow you approach your work,
(04:36):
it'll determine your attitude inyour work.
And then from there, you know,the greatest work that we have
in this life is that of buildingup the body of Christ.
And God has given us his church,and we are to labor well for the
purification and the beauty ofthe church of Christ.
And we labor in that uh by theSpirit as we await his coming.
(05:02):
So that's where I went, andyeah, it was it was a blessed
time of preparation for me, andI I pray that it it served the
congregation well.
SPEAKER_03 (05:11):
And a whole lot to unpack there, you know.
I think good summary for sure,but maybe just even start with
the Genesis 2 concept.
I think a lot of people missthat biblically, that work was
before the fall.
Like we are created to work, youknow, there are implications of
the fall, but too many peopleare like, well, I only work
because of, and I think that canbe a misconception probably of
(05:33):
what heaven's gonna be like,everybody thinks it's gonna be
like laying on a beach, youknow, kind of thing.
But maybe kind of through yourstudy, you know, how we
biblically how does that changethings how as believers and and
what we understand about ourcreator and us as the creation?
SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
Yeah, I think that it's one of those things that
when you really begin tounderstand the the verbs there
to work and to keep, that'sGenesis 2, 15, where the Lord
takes the man, puts him in thegarden, and tells him to work
and keep the garden.
And and those two words are usedlater in discussing the the work
of the priests in the tabernacleand how they are to work and
(06:13):
keep the tabernacle.
And uh that that connectionthere gives us the the important
foundation for our work asworship.
So it it absolutely was beforethe fall.
God didn't give us work as apunishment, right?
We we look at Genesis 3 and wesee that work certainly was
(06:34):
affected in the fall, it wascursed.
The ground now works against us,thorns and thistles rise up from
the ground, but work was amandate before the fall, and it
was a mandate because we werecreated in God's image, and so
being made in the image of Godand knowing that our God worked
to make creation, it was on theseventh day that he rested, but
(06:57):
he was working during those sixdays to bring about all
creation, and therefore, as ourcreator, we owe everything to
him.
He made everything, and he madeit and it was good.
And he made us then in his imageto be stewards of that good
creation.
And so that is uh is not takenaway in the fall, it is made
(07:21):
more difficult.
But the mandate still is on usto work.
God assumes in the curse that wewill work, it will just be more
difficult for us, but yet inChrist, in his coming, in his
redemption, now we begin tojoyfully work again as unto the
Lord.
Now we work for somethingeternal.
(07:41):
And and so just as the Father isalways working even to now to
uphold the universe by the powerof his word, so we now in all of
our days are spent working forhis sake.
SPEAKER_03 (07:53):
Yeah, and a lot of good things, I think, too, from
being just reminded, God's a Godof order, not chaos.
I mean, every all the creation,like you talked about, was
bringing order from creation.
I mean, it was obviously fromnothing, but then ordering that.
And you know, sin works againstit, but we should approach our
work the same way.
Whatever you do, because somepeople think like, oh, I just
(08:15):
work at a restaurant or maybe Ijust drive, you know, yeah, I
don't diminish any job.
You should be bringing order inin the work that you do.
And I was kind of taught young,leave it better than you found
it, right?
You know, no matter what you do,whatever job you have that you
come into, improve it.
Do something to make it better.
(08:35):
And especially as believers, Iwould say, you know, kind of
what you're talking about, weshould be bringing that order
from chaos as image bearers.
That's what we're created to do,and viewing our work that way.
Like I was in engineering for along time.
I'm trying to get people homefaster, you know, more efficient
transportation systems, safer,you know.
What are we doing to improve thecreation?
But like you said, sin fightsagainst that, and we can get
(08:58):
kind of demoralized about it, Ithink.
SPEAKER_02 (09:00):
Right.
But yeah, I I think too, likethinking of that and just the
aspect of work and just how Ithink often people feel that way
because of the way that workfeels, right?
Like the way when you walkthrough work, especially a job
that you don't I I think I'm I'mthinking vocation specifically.
I I think right now, um, I thinkit's hard to feel like, man,
this is able to be done to theglory of God because I hate what
(09:21):
I do.
Right.
It's not the thing that I ampassionate about or X, Y, and Z.
Um, but I think in even in spiteof that, I think the the goal
is, and what I think of firstCorinthians 10, first
Corinthians 10 31, right?
Whatever you do.
Right.
And then Paul says, What whetheryou eat or whether you drink,
but whatever you do, beingwhether you work or whether you
sit or whether you stand orwhatever the thing is, do it all
to the glory of God, right?
(09:42):
And that's I think the same kindof concept that you're that
you're pointing out is man,whatever we do, and that you
listed many, right?
All of those things in which wedo are to be done to the glory
of God.
And so, man, you might, yeah,like you might push cards at
Target and you might hate it,but man, leave it better than
you found it and do that work tothe glory of God.
Or you might be a top-notch CEO,right?
Where you get to have theperfect job that you feel like
(10:02):
is is the best.
Like do that to the glory of Godas well.
And I think they each come withtheir own struggle, but I think
it's hard to rightly see workwhen we don't rightly like our
work.
You know what I mean?
Like, does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01 (10:13):
Yeah, for sure.
I think I'm someone who saysthat all of our problems are
inherently theological problems.
Yeah.
And so I think the more that wehave a good understanding of God
and his nature, then that givesus the understanding necessary
to uh steward well the thingsthat he's given to us.
They're all his creation.
And so, like we said, work ishis creation, therefore he has a
(10:35):
purpose for work in our lives.
And so as we look at God and hisomnipotence and his sovereignty
and his wisdom, then yeah, ourour pushing carts at the grocery
store is not meaningless.
Yeah, that is used as a means ofserving our neighbor.
It's an important work, it's nota meaningless work.
Just because it's menial to you,it doesn't mean that it's
(10:57):
meaningless to God.
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:59):
And it's it's used in a way that can glorify God.
If someone does that in a waythat is joyful, in a way that is
uh purposely loving, then howcan God not be glorified in
something like that?
Yeah.
And so I think where we fallinto temptation to sin is when
we become the determiners ofwhat is important in God's eyes,
(11:22):
and we say, well, because I'mnot doing this big thing, this
really important thing in myeyes, yeah, therefore it doesn't
have value.
SPEAKER_00 (11:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
But First Corinthians 15 says that all of
our labor in the Lord is not invain.
That's right.
Therefore, that touches thebroad spectrum, the universal
spectrum of work, that all of itmatters to the Lord and can be
used to accomplish his purposes.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:45):
I mean, I I remember being in those situations,
right?
Like, yeah, I mean, just theaspect of working jobs that I
didn't necessarily want to work,but I didn't necessarily even
like working in them, right?
But they were jobs that I was Ihad at the moment, right?
And that was gonna be the goal.
Was like, man, whatever I do,I'm gonna do it in a way that
loves the people around me, andI'm gonna do it in a way that's
(12:07):
excellent so that when peoplesee the me, they see a
reflection of our excellent God,right?
And just how he is perfect inall of his ways.
And so I'm gonna strive to toglorify him in those areas.
And it it I did bound, like Idid struggle with that concept
of like, man, what I feel calledto do, I'm not doing right now.
Right.
So I got to figure out what thatmeans and what that looks like,
right?
I mean, I I can think of so manytimes me and you, Cody, just sat
(12:28):
and like, dude, I hate this, butlike this is the benefit, right?
That like, yeah, I'm deliveringAmazon packages and I'm like
working in in snow and cold, andI don't like that, but like,
man, what what do I how do I getto do that in a way that brings
glory to God?
And I think a lot of our youngadults, uh dealing with young
adults and Cody who serve in ourministry, like are in that same
season.
And I think not just youngadults, but I think a lot of
(12:48):
people, yeah, they just dothings because they have to pay
the bill or they have to uh youknow funnel in some way that
this work.
And uh I think their perspectiveis different.
I think it's a perspective shiftof like, man, I'm not I'm not
seeing this as a burden, but asa blessing.
And that man, as I get to dothis, I'm gonna do it to the
best of my ability, right?
Knowing that God has desiredthat for me, but also for his
(13:11):
glory.
SPEAKER_03 (13:12):
That's right.
So I think those experiences aresuper valuable too.
We're in a yeah, adolescence andthings is like kind of delaying
work in a lot of our society,you know, not to get tangential,
but I say kind of backing upwhat you were saying.
Like I've been a janitor, I'vewaited tables, I've worked as a
you know, concession stand, youknow, I've been a construction
(13:33):
worker.
I value those experiencesbecause I value those jobs now
because I've done them.
And like doing that workprovides a lot of perspective,
you know, that there is nothingyou're above and there's value
to we need all those things.
So super important.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
Yeah, and we look to Christ as the example, right?
Yeah, Christ is the king of theuniverse, and he humbled himself
and came in the form of aservant.
Yeah.
And therefore, it dishonors Godwhen we're not willing to go
low.
SPEAKER_00 (13:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:00):
When we think that we deserve more, should have
more, are worth more, then thatdishonors God as the giver of
all good things.
Yeah.
Um, and so yeah, I think backsometimes of the previous jobs I
had before I was saved, and I Ikind of long to redeem those
things.
I'm like, man, if Kmart wasstill open, I'd get a job there
(14:22):
and I would work like no oneworked before.
It's old school right there.
Yeah.
Unfortunately, they're all gone.
I outlasted them.
So um yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, and and listen, Iremember like I remember, I
mean, think you mentionedjanitor.
I mean, I remember being onstaff here at Lifehouse as the I
think I was a facilitiesassistant, was my title.
And just the countless months ofman, this sucks.
Like, this is not what I I havegreat, I had great bosses.
I it wasn't the people, it wasthe the work, right?
(14:51):
I I am in essence had this ideathat I was quote unquote worth
more.
I should have been doing more.
I I was able, I should have hadmore responsibility, whatever
the thing was, right?
That was kind of guarding my uhor changing my perspective.
Um, I remember that thatfeeling, right?
But as you said, Nate, like,man, one, God met me there and
(15:11):
changed my perspective that willlast me until I die, right?
Like, really, like just theaspect of contentment in in the
Lord.
And if I can't be content inthis, I'll never be content in
anything that I do.
He gave me that there, right?
And they were, but I think uh,and you you mentioned Nate is
like the the refining periods ofeach job that like as we walk
into each thing, it might be thebest thing we walk into or the
(15:32):
worst thing we walk intowork-wise, and but we get to do
it knowing that it's refining usright for the the the next
moment, right?
Like for me, that janitorcustodian job that then refined
me in a place that I was able tomove into connections, but I was
able to then be able to handletaking on a different role, uh,
one with more responsibility andmore uh you know different
(15:55):
areas.
And then even now into youngadults is like I if I didn't do
that and God didn't meet me inthat place and shift my
perspective and my heart tosolely focus on Him in light of
whatever work I did, then Iwould never be able to do what I
do now.
But like without that, that'snot possible.
It's just God.
SPEAKER_01 (16:11):
Yeah, yeah.
And I always say the providenceof God is best read backwards
because we get to look back, andeach of those things was
crucially important in heartformation.
Yeah, the Lord used each ofthose things, and at the time,
yeah, they were difficult towalk through.
We probably felt like we weredreaming of the next thing, but
there is an importance to everyaspect of your life, every
(16:33):
moment of your life.
God works in the ordinary,right?
And so I think where we run intotrouble is when our vocation
becomes attached to ouridentity.
Yeah.
And I talked about this a littlebit in the sermon, but um, I
think it's worth bearing outhere that you know our
attachment of our identity toour vocation is a dangerous
(16:55):
game.
Yeah, because when you are doingwell and succeeding, it becomes
drunk and or you become drunkwith success.
Yeah.
And and that's a uh a disastrousthing for yourself personally,
it's a disastrous thing forfamilies.
We've seen how workaholism candestroy families, um, it can
(17:16):
neglect the family.
Um and and as you succeed, iteither puffs you up with pride,
but when you fail, it drives youto the lowest of despairs.
And and likewise, when you maketoo little of your vocation
then, and you become sort oflazy, indifferent, apathetic,
(17:38):
then you dishonor God byrefusing to participate in the
way that He has designed you,um, in the work that He's given
to you.
You're basically neglecting Him,saying, No good, or no thanks,
God, I'm good.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (17:52):
Yeah.
I think you do a good job reallylaying out the extremes, you
know, each side of how we shouldfaithfully look at it.
So maybe unpacking, you know, wecertainly it's kind of
interesting we've gone from aculture that was very elevating
work, which is still out there,like you said, to where kind of
sliding to where, you know,through the worth work-life
(18:12):
balance thing and we're makingvery little of it, but maybe
start with, like you said, whengood things become ultimate
things, when our work becomesour identity and above God,
maybe talk a little bit morethrough the dangers.
How do you recognize if that'shappening?
You know, people may be kind offocused in that, have family
members.
How should we kind of deal withthat a little bit?
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
Yeah, I think one of the best ways that we can
identify idols in our own heartsis to two avenues.
One to follow our time.
Where are we putting our time?
Um, and I I I talked about it,you know, I I'm always astounded
at so-called Christians givingGod two percent of their time.
(18:57):
And they give so much ofthemselves to so many other
things.
Well, that's just me throwing anumber out there.
There's no there's no sciencebes behind that number.
SPEAKER_03 (19:10):
Um, but that's just I didn't know if you'd done it
like seven days a week.
On average, you're awake like16, 17 hours, so there's a
hundred and something hours,maybe you spend an hour or two
in church.
I didn't know if you had a gooduh, but it's about right.
You know, we we'll tithe ourmoney, but and I was that way
for a long time.
Like, oh yeah, Lord, I'll put10% in the offer, but don't ask
me to do anything other thanSunday morning.
So sorry, I mean yeah, or eventhat.
SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
Don't ask me to give 10.2%.
It's we we are unfortunatelyminimalists at times um when
really I think that if you havetruly tasted and seen the glory
of God, yeah, then your heartcan't help but want more of him.
And you know, we're we'recreatures of desire and we
(19:53):
pursue the things that we love.
And so I think how we see thatplay out with vocation and work
is that uh, like I said, youfollow the where you're
investing your time, you'll findthe idol there.
And often for a someone who is aworkaholic, they will spend
(20:14):
exorbitant amounts of time um toadvance so uh in their career,
uh, to gain promotion, tothey'll job hop from this to
that, just seeking for more andadvancement, promotion, none of
it's inherently bad.
Yeah, but it's when the desiresof your heart are after that
(20:36):
thing that you have now found anidol.
And also another way to find oneof your idols is through your
fears.
What do you fear?
Do you fear not being enough?
Do you fear that you're notcontributing enough?
Do you fear that people willthink less of you based on what
you do?
That is a good way to find anidol in your heart, um, is to
(20:58):
follow your fears and see, youknow, is my worth, my value
attached to what I do instead ofwho I am in Christ.
Because when when your identityis wrapped up in Christ, if you
are found in Christ, then youare grounded and found in
(21:21):
something that is eternal andunchanging and immovable.
And so therefore, you're nottossed to and fro by the the
winds of change, by the waves oftrial, or any of that.
You are fixed in Christ, andtherefore you can endure all
things.
You can be promoted well and doit to the glory of God, or you
(21:44):
can be laid off well and you canput your hope in God, knowing
that He has always provided foryou and He will continue to
provide.
And so I think uh it's importantfor each of us really to uh not
just pat ourselves on the backfor not being workaholics, but
also to consider are we workingin a way that honors God?
Are we working heartily as untothe Lord, or are we just doing
(22:07):
enough just to get by?
And uh yeah, I think the thestory you tell yourself again
will frame the way that youapproach vocation.
SPEAKER_03 (22:18):
Yeah, that's really good.
I think ways to examine yourheart and you know, really see
is this becoming an idol?
Am I becoming a workaholic?
I certainly came from a familythat work was kind of
everything.
My dad ran his own business andyou know, a lot of other things.
And so, and even after theydivorced, then my mom had to
work to so it was like you gottawork, you know, and it became
(22:38):
really an elevated thing that wehad to work through.
So that's the one extreme.
You're kind of starting to gointo it.
Now, how do we examine the otherend?
You know, like don't want towork, I'm kind of lazy about
this.
Like you already kind ofmentioned it, how that really
dishonors God.
Like, if we claim the name ofChrist, yet we're the laziest
person in you know theworkplace.
(22:58):
What does that say about us?
And how how does that extremekind of play out from our heart,
would you say in your study?
SPEAKER_01 (23:05):
Yeah, I would say that the the easiest way to
diagnose that would be inlooking at the way that you love
your neighbor um and and how yougo about pursuing loving your
neighbor, because to be lazy, tobe dependent uh unnecessarily on
(23:29):
a program or someone else isreally uh self-indulgent.
It is uh presumptuous andtherefore it's sinful because
you're presuming upon another'skindness, another's work,
another's labor, and thereforeyou're inherently sinning
(23:50):
against the Lord and againstthat person, and therefore
you're not loving that person.
And so I think that the thebiggest guard against uh
indifference and laziness willreally be to consider others,
right?
We're to consider one anotherand show honor to one another
and to love one another, butalso consider the way that God
(24:12):
has created.
He gives us examples inProverbs.
You know, consider the ant yousluggard.
Look at the way that it storesup in season.
And so we're to take inventoryof these things and let them
shape our heart to form ourhearts into uh working hearts
that work well for the sake ofthe other, right?
We see that all throughout thethe the Trinity, where God the
(24:36):
Father is working on behalf ofglorifying his son.
God the Son is working to bringglory to his Father, God the
Holy Spirit goes wherever hewills and works to bring men and
women to the Father as sons anddaughters, and they are
constantly working on ourbehalf.
(24:58):
And so I think that consideryour life and consider how am I
loving my neighbor with my work?
Can I say that I am loving myneighbor with my work?
Um, or am I being unnecessarilylazy in some ways?
Am I just showing up to my job,working to get it done, and then
(25:19):
coming home and letting that bemy moment of rest?
Or am I there laboring joyfullyfor the Lord and for my neighbor
and and shining the light ofChrist in the workplace?
SPEAKER_02 (25:33):
Yeah, I think that's good.
I kind of want to maybe shift alittle bit.
So sorry if I if I mess it up,but thinking about you mentioned
in one of your points how wework in the home, right?
And like how uh your family isthat first kind of priority of
work.
Um and I'm thinking about justas you kind of talked about
working and then you kind ofclack out and go home to rest,
I'm thinking about that balanceof then, man, okay, if if if
(25:56):
work in the home is my firstpriority, how then do I rightly
balance work in the workplace?
You know what I mean?
Like how do I do both well umand and and glorifying to the
Lord?
Like so caring for my family andmy children while also you know
running the race of doing work.
Maybe talk about that a littlebit and kind of your uh thoughts
(26:17):
on that.
SPEAKER_01 (26:18):
Yeah, uh it's one of those things that takes prayer,
great amount of prayer anddirection from the Lord, wisdom
from the Lord, wisdom from andcounsel from others to know how
to balance these things becauseit's not the same for every
family.
Um and so I think that it's oneof those things where uh if you
(26:41):
overwork yourself during the dayand then you get home and you
feel like I've just got nothingto give, yeah.
I I I I can't deal with thesekids right now, I can't deal
with this right now, then youare in a sinful path.
SPEAKER_02 (26:55):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:55):
Um, and you know, it's something that I learned
early on from a pastor that, youknow, he would get home every
day after laboring eight hours,nine hours uh at the church, and
he would pray before he wouldenter the door, Lord, strengthen
me, give me the strength to lovemy family well right now because
I just don't have it.
SPEAKER_00 (27:16):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:16):
And so I think that it's something that we have to
be so intentional about.
Um, you know, we are here to bespent for the sake of Christ.
God spent everything for us, andtherefore we should spend
ourselves for his sake and forhis glory.
Yeah.
And so knowing that there is noway to neglect our family and
(27:38):
honor God, we must, no matterhow hard we work at the office,
we must work equally or as orharder in the home.
We get home, you had a long day,you pray for the strength and
you get it done.
Go in, you love your familywell.
You let your wife and yourchildren know that you see them
and that you care for them andthat you are providing for them
(28:00):
more than just monetarily,because the last thing that kids
need is more money.
Yeah, they need affection,attention, love, and they need
to know that you see them, thatyou care for them.
Yeah, and and the same withwives and husbands.
You get home, let them know thatyou see them, that you care for
them, that it's more than justI'm providing, therefore, I've
(28:26):
done my job.
Yeah.
No, our job doesn't stop there.
Our job is to work unto the Lordin every arena.
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
Yeah, I heard someone say, and like it might
be the same person because Ifeel like I've heard that
before, but maybe you told methat.
But um, he will often say, like,when I get home, I'm just
starting my second shift.
That's right.
It just, it's just I'm I'm not,you know, clocking out, which is
often, I think, what you'resaying, like the temptation is
oh, I'm home, I kick my feet up,maybe go to the bedroom, hang
(28:53):
out, whatever.
But like, man, I'm just hitstarting my second shift, and
now I get to do work well byloving my family, loving my
wife.
SPEAKER_01 (29:00):
That's right.
SPEAKER_03 (29:01):
Well, Cody, man, we appreciate you coming on.
I think so much more we couldeven say and go on for a long
time because it's seeing work inthe right light.
You know, something we knowwe're not saved by works, but
everything we've talked aboutwith creation and how we're to
view, not just our vocation.
So uh great stuff.
We'll give you the last word.
Anything to sum up for thelisteners uh for this episode as
(29:23):
we move into uh stories of howwe work.
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
Yeah, I would just encourage uh the listeners, you
know, consider your life,consider the work that Christ
has done for you and and letthat just wash over you,
meditate upon uh the work thathe's done and all that he has
purchased for us.
You know, he says, Come to meall who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
(29:49):
And and that rest is is so thatwe can, our souls can rest
finally.
And so we can come to him in ourweariness, in our tiredness.
And we can ask for strength, andhe will grant it by his grace.
And so, yeah, I would just askeveryone to consider their life
and where they uh can workheartily is unto the Lord.
SPEAKER_03 (30:13):
Thanks for tuning in to the Life Talk Podcast.
If this episode encouraged you,please be sure to like, comment,
subscribe, and leave a review soothers can find this content as
well.
And we'll look forward to seeingyou next Monday for another
great episode.
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