WHAT IS A FLOURISHING LIFE?
Defining
the flourishing life in a world with such diverse societies can become quite
challenging. Because each culture is so complex in itself, finding a broad,
all-encompassing answer is not easy. However, it would seem that the desire to
be a part of something bigger than oneself is cross-cultural. Every society
longs for purpose, so, in theory, a flourishing life would be one that has
realized its purpose and has achieved it.
For
the Christian, the flourishing life can be defined simply by the Westminster
Shorter Catechism that states, “What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end
is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”[1] The transcendent purpose
that all human beings long for has been specified as bringing honor to God. Christians
believe this is all-pervasive; one’s desire to glorify his Creator should
affect everything one does. One can have confidence that they are living life
well when they are living their life with the purpose of glorifying God. Because
work takes up such a large portion of one’s life, it would only make sense that
this same definition for a flourishing life would also apply to work.
Christians
derive their understanding of work as a means of the flourishing life from the
first chapters of the Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, readers are told that God has
created the Earth and everything in it and has deemed it good. He delights in
creating. Human beings, as the crown jewel of His creation are then deemed
“very good” and are given the mandate to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the
earth and subdue it…”[2] This passage shows readers
that, from the world’s first conception, while still in its paradisal state,
work was a good and purposeful thing.
CURRENT
CULTURAL PERCEPTION OF PURPOSE IN WORK
It is not until Genesis 3[3], at the fall of mankind, that
work becomes a burdensome task of obligation rather than an act of joy and
purpose. Unfortunately, this tainting of what was meant to be good continues to
affect the cultural perception of purpose in work. People are finding it harder
and harder to find meaning in their lives. Because their longing to be a part
of something bigger than themselves can only be satisfied by God, their
searching of the world for purpose leaves them empty-handed. Slowly, this has
lead generations of people to settle for temporary satisfaction instead.
Evidence
of this downward spiral of people seeking purpose is shown in a study conducted
by Jean M. Twenge, Elise C. Freeman, and W. Keith Campbell. This study analyzed
the importance of various goals for three separate generations. In this study,
about 15,000 18 year olds were asked to rate how important various goals were
to them. This study has taken place every year since 1966 in order to receive
accurate data from Baby Boomers (1966-1978), Generation X (1979-1999), and
Millennials (2000-2009) when they are in their transition from high school to
college. Two goals in particular have changed in their perceived importance
drastically from generation to generation. The perceived importance of the goal
of developing a meaningful philosophy of life has decreased from 73.0% with
Baby Boomers, to 46.9% with Generation X, ultimately to 44.6% with Millennials.
On the other hand, the rating of the importance of being very well off
financially has ascended from 44.6 % with Baby Boomers, to 70.8% with
Generation X, to 74.4% with Millennials.[4] These statistics display
that the significance of achieving financial exorbitance versus discovering a
purposeful life is nearly inverse when comparing the Baby Boomer generation to
the Millennial generation. Because monetary goals are slowly exceeding that of
metaphysical goals, it becomes clear that the general view of a flourishing
life would be one that achieves that monetary goal in work. This is detrimental
because this definition of a flourishing life in work is far from the Biblical
perspective of glorifying God in purposeful work.
Unfortunately, it seems that the cultural issue of seeing
work as a way to get to their monetary goal has slowly creeped into the Church.
A dichotomy has been created between Sunday morning and the 40 hours spent at
work during the rest of the week. Work has become simply a means to end. One’s
job is no longer seen as another way to glorify God, but rather as a way to
finance the rest of one’s life goals. One of the clearest examples of this is
the separation in churches of “Christian” jobs versus the rest of the
workforce. Men and women seeking a career in full time ministry are honored and
prayed for to no end. On the other hand, those going into careers as teachers,
stay at home mothers, construction workers, etc. go unnoticed.
Christians
should be concerned with this shift, first and foremost because we are called
to be set apart. The Gospel of Christ gives Christians the purpose of
glorifying and enjoying God on this Earth. This should permeate everything we
do, work included. Finding purpose in our vocation should be the natural
outflow of having God as a part of our lives. This purpose of glorifying God in
our work should be a big part of what sets Christians apart. One study done by
ReviseSociology estimated that a person that works from age 18 to 67 will spend
approximately 92,120 hours at work. This is about 20% of the average person’s
waking life.[5]
It is all too often that this 20% of one’s life is thought of simply as an
obligation. This 20% of our lives seems to be overlooked by Christians and the
Church.
EMBODY
THE VALUES
Christians gives sermons and speeches about living for
God. Verses like 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ controls us,
because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have
died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for
themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”[6] or Philippians 1:21, “For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”[7] are recited. How deep into
our being are these passages seeping though? If Christians truly want to follow
these words, they must lead by using the concept of “embody the values” that
comes from the book, The Secret.[8] This is what it all comes
down to. Christians say that Christ affects every part of us and our lives, but
is it affecting the way we view work? It would not appear so from an outside
look.
Churches honor those who become pastors, take off work to
go on a mission trip, or volunteer for their church. The large portion of one’s
life spent at work remains untouched by the Church. This is because many using
any job without “ministry” in the job description to glorify God are not
honored. Churches gather around and pray for men and women going into the
mission field, but no one prays for the stay at home mother who is faithfully
raising her children to follow God. One leaving for seminary receives
encouragement from other Church members, but no one thinks about the extra work
the business manager puts in to show his employees the joy God has brought to
his work.
If
those who integrate the gospel into their daily work are not honored, it would
go to show that Christians are not embodying the value of seeking to glorify
God in everything. When someone’s daily work is not honored and encouraged to
be Kingdom-building, the art of integrating the gospel into one’s career is
lost. One consequence of this is that when children do not see their parents or
leaders using their career to glorify God and only see jobs as a means to make
money, they are not going to search for purpose in their work when they are
older.
Many
have forgotten how to even go about demonstrating purpose in work. Churches can
show how deep their convictions about grace, integrity, forgiveness, joy, and
honesty go by teaching their members to embody these attributes as a way to
glorify God in their vocation. Churches should create a culture that honors
work and pushes people to excellence in their job.
WHAT
INFLUENCE DO I HAVE?
As a worker, I am able to
influence through embodying the values. Through taking responsibility and being
intentional in my work, I know that I am glorifying God and finding purpose in
my work. This is frequently displayed in the way that I speak about my job.
People that know me know how much my job means to me and how much I value the
time that I get to spend there. It is more than just a job, it is a way that I
glorify God.
I also have influence in the way that I treat workers
that I come into contact with on a daily basis, whether that means other church
members or even workers at different businesses that I come into contact with.
If I show other people that I think that their role has significance in the
Kingdom of God, it helps to encourage them to believe that as well.
WHAT
IMPACT DOES THIS HAVE ON THE FLOURISHING LIFE?
About 40 of the 168 hours in a person’s week is spent at
work. How much more peace and joy would our generation have if they spent those
40 hours doing something that they knew had purpose and fulfilled what they
were created to do? This would leave a huge impact on Christians who then would
be able to show others their faith through the way they view work as glorifying
to God.
Bibliography
Blanchard, Ken and
Mark Miller. The Secret: What Great
Leaders Know and Do. San Francisco, California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers,
Inc., 2004.
Twenge, Jean M.,
Elise C. Freeman, and W. Keith Campbell. "Generational Differences in Young
Adults’ Life Goals, Concern for Others, and Civic Orientation, 1966 –2009."Personality
Processes and Individual Differences (2012): 5. Accessed April 30, 2017. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-102-5-1045.pdf.
Westminster
Assembly. The Shorter Catechism. London,
England: A.M. 1647.
"What
Percentage of Your Life Will You Spend at Work?" ReviseSociology
(2016). Accessed April 30, 2017. https://revisesociology.com/2016/08/16/percentage-life-work/.
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