To the Glory of God

Not too long ago I was reminded how much our theology effects everything we do in our lives. From time to time our Christian School is visited by various Christian Colleges that are making their rounds, attempting to convince young students that their school is the school for them. More often than not, these schools send out young recently graduated and married couple as their representatives. This was the case today.

The young man, (we will call him Ted) began his spiel, by baiting the kids into shouting out what they wanted to be when they grow up. Then, Ted showed a series of slides that showed what other people had become when they grew up. One slide, showed every parent’s worst nightmare, the 30 year old couch potato that never left home and was sleeping in the middle of the day. Ted then compared this sluggard to a man in the next slide wearing a nice suit, reading over a report of some type. The second man was obviously a success. This was humorous and we got the point. It was the next comparison that caused me alarm.

The second set of slides started out showing a security guard on a Segway. You know that individual scooter with two wheels that was created for postal carriers, and law enforcement types, that spend lots of hours on their feet. Following this slide was a picture of a highway patrolman or deputy sheriff, I can’t remember which. The comparison was obvious and Ted was making his case that the security guard or “mall cop” as he referred to him, was not as successful because he was not a “real cop” and therefore was not living a successful life. Ted then went down his list of preferred vocations. You know the list; it’s the same one that you have probably heard over and over- doctor, lawyer, FBI agent, pilot etc.

Now, what was Ted communicating to these young students? Some professions are honorable and worth being admired and some are not, and worthy of ridicule. How does this stand up to good theology? If we recognize that it is God that rules over nations and he does so by raising up politicians, doctors, plumbers, electricians, waste water treatment workers, etc, then we really don’t have any room to prefer one over another.

Moses records for us in Exodus 37 “And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.” (ESV) Preserved for all of eternity are the names of these men, Bezalel and Oholiab, two men of many that God raised up for His divine purpose. Imagine what these men would have missed had they pursued a more “honorable” profession or desired to be prophets instead of doing what God had gifted them to do and put in their hearts to accomplish? They would have missed out building the Tabernacle of the Living God! Let that sink in…THE TABERNACLE OF THE LIVING GOD!

Instead of demeaning working class people that are earning a living in order to provide financially for their families, we should be encouraging people to follow the Holy Spirit. We should be calling people to the higher calling of working with all their might to the glory of God. Encouraging students and people to excellence, in whatever they do, to show the greatness of the Creator of this universe. King Solomon called people to do everything with all of their strength (Eccl 9:10). Why? He knew that we only have one life to live and when our lives are over our opportunity to serve the Lord will be over. Paul also told us that whatever we do in this life, we should do as to God Himself and not to man (Col 3:23).
The long and the short of it is this; good theology demands for us to recognize that God is sovereign and in His creativity has created billions of people on this earth for one purpose, his glory. He created the weak and the strong, the rich and the poor, the “professional” and the laborer, all for the purpose of subduing the earth for the glory of God. This theology requires that we approach each and everything that is to be done just the same as Bezalel and Oholiab. Our work is to show the wonder, majesty, and awesome beauty of our God.

So the next time we drive by a man digging a hole or holding a sign directing traffic; let’s think twice before we lean back and tell our kids that they need to do well in school so they don’t end up like that guy. Perhaps we should take the time to pray with them and thank our God for creating people with minds, hands, and skills to do what he has not skilled us to do.