When you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation-"doing everything for God's glory"-is not a platitude or an outdated notion. This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and our work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God. For when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume most of our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes.
Culture expert Gene Veith unpacks the biblical, Reformation teaching about the doctrine of vocation, emphasizing not what we should specifically do with our time or what careers we are called to, but what God does in and through our callings-even within the home. In each task He has given us-in our workplaces and families, our churches and society-God Himself is at work. Veith guides you to discover God's purpose and calling in those seemingly ordinary areas by providing you with a spiritual framework for thinking about such issues and for acting upon them with a changed perspective.
Work can be a daily grind¿a hard, monotonous set of thankless tasks. In the midst of the ongoing toil, many are plagued by a lack of purpose, confused as to what to do and who to become. And while some of our vocations may seem more overtly meaningful than others', the truth is that most of us work because we have to. It is a means to an end¿survival.
Given the enormous amount of time each of us spends working, we would do well to understand our callings and how God works through them.
Here culture expert Gene Veith gives us more than a simple understanding of work¿more than a catchy slogan to "do all things for the glory of God." He outlines a spiritual framework for answering questions such as:
- What does it mean to be a Christian businessperson or a Christian artist or a Christian lawyer, scientist,...