A Ministry Mindset
Having a Ministry Mindset. In Genesis, God put a man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it. That was not a result of the fall of man. It was laboring that resulted from man’s transgression. God worked for 6 days as He created for six days, contrasting with Him resting on the seventh day. Work is not a bad, but a beautiful thing in and of itself. It can even be a glorious thing when we do it in collaboration with the Lord. Along this same line is the motto of the Benedictines, “ora et labor,” that is, “prayer and work.” Both are seen as essential and redemptive.
The fact of our lives is that most of us must work either for ourselves or someone else. This is not to be a contrast but an extension or an expression of our life of faith. We are God’s hands and feet in this world, and it is through us that He seeks to build up the Kingdom at hand. It is through us that He seeks to restore the Body of Christ. We are sent out to do this as the apostles and disciples were.
Too often, as laity, we can look to clergy and religious to do that while we go to our jobs. That’s not how it’s meant to be. While they may have a more specifically religious flavor to their mission, our work is supposed to be every bit as much of a ministry, but ministry in the marketplace, perhaps.
Some factors that distinguish work from ministry:
- Seeing the Lord as the ultimate Master for whom we work.
- Entering our work with the focus and goal of witnessing to the love of God.
- Offering the sacrifices required of us as acts of love and praise to the Lord.
- Courageously and gratefully embracing whatever is required of us in our jobs as God’s provision for our personal growth.
Perhaps the most fundamental difference in a work and ministry mindset might be starting from a place of love rather than fear. When we start from being deeply, passionately loved by the Lord and loving ourselves as He loves us, we go out into the world carried by the waves of His love, which flow through us to others. If, however, we start from a mindset of fearing not being able to pay the bills or fearing our lack of inherent value, we look for what we can get through a job rather than what we can give.
This day, may the Lord sear into the depths of your soul the knowledge of His infinite and never-failing love for you. In that strength, may you minister to His people in whatever task you do, and may the Lord give you His peace.
Margaret
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