God sees work as essentially good. God created a physical world and it was good. He gave Adam work to tend that creation. Work is therefore divinely ordained.

God sees work as blessing. His first command to mankind was to go and multiply, to fill the earth and bless it. Mankind has a mandate to work and to develop and grow. Mankind did not have the task merely to maintain the status quo but to develop and grow what he had been given.

God sees work as worship – our heart and character are revealed in what we do and how we do it. The scriptures refer to honesty and diligence in work. Most Christians are not ‘full time’ workers, as pastors or missionaries, etc. We work in offices, factories, schools, building sites, fields, etc. We express our faith and hope in God in these contexts.

Work develops honesty and generosity (Eph 4.28). Paul writes to commend work, to provide for ourselves and our families, as well was being generous. Do not be idle. So strong was this command that Christians were warned to keep away from those who do not obey! (1 Thess 4.11 & 2 Thess 3.6-12)

Christ frequently spoke of work and market places. Lots of His parables are work-related. He spent time with working people; fishermen, tax collectors and others.

(based on a talk by Scott Marques, with a few comments of my own- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Iwmm39TD8

The Bloom Review is a recent document providing an independent review into how government engages with faith. It is quite a lengthy read but has some interesting highlights.

One I did notice in para 1.2.2:

Many Christian respondents said they no longer feel able to be who they are in public or at work, after experiencing the dismissal of traditional religious beliefs and practices. This review unearthed many concerns from diverse faith communities that government is overlooking the complexity of the issue, fuelling a trend in society, the media and government to privatise religion and belief. For example, there was a consistent emphasis among Christian respondents of the danger of no-platforming, and the lack of a decisive response from politicians and government to address this issue. The concern was that the views and beliefs of many Christians are being marginalised and rejected from discussions without exploring why people hold particular beliefs about life, relationships and meaning.

The report makes lots of positive comments about the role of religion and faith in UK society, commenting on our long-standing freedom of religion. This is the seen world.

But unseen, as evidenced by the comments above, is the ‘consistent emphasis among Christian respondents,’ that they consider they are marginalised.

You can read the entire Bloom Review here: Does government ‘do God?’ An independent review into how government engages with faith (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Some parts of the Bible take some work to find the gems. Numbers chapter 3 is one such.

The children of Israel are at the start of their journey into the wilderness. They did not yet know this journey would last 40 years! The rebellion that brought the generation-long- delay occurred several chapters later.

This chapter explains the organisation of the tribe of Levi, to look after the tabernacle and all its equipment. The tabernacle is described in Exodus. It was the ‘mobile temple’ which the children of Israel were to carry always. It was God’s dwelling place.

The Levites consisted of three tribes:

Gershonites carried the tabernacle itself, the tent, its coverings, and the curtain at its entrance.

Kohathites had responsibility for the care of the tabernacle. This included the ark, the table, lampstand, etc; all the special items which were used by the priests for the worship of God. They also carried in the veil to the ‘Holy of Holies.’

Merarites carried the heavy items, the frames and crossbars, and tent pegs.

Of the three, we would say that that the Kohathites has responsibility for the most holy items. Yet this is not stated! I think we must understand that all the roles are important. The brother who carried the tent pegs had a job as important as those who carried the ark of the covenant. If he delayed his arrival when the tabernacle was being set up, the tabernacle could not be erected, and worship could not happen!

If God has called me to a role and responsibility, it is important, it is holy, it is for His glory. It does not matter whether it involves speech or silence, whether it is public or private, etc.

And, God’s call to me must include some collaboration and teamwork. We are not to be independent.