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The Intrinsic Value of Work

In the Light of the Doctrines of Creation, Redemption and Eschatology

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to provide the theological bases for the intrinsic value of work by considering the doctrines of creation, redemption and eschatology. While noting that all Christian doctrines are relevant for all of life (Banks), the discussion in this paper is limited to three doctrines only. These doctrines were chosen for embodying the breadth of God’s action in history from beginning to end. They are important for our purposes because “if we are to understand what human existence is, and what human beings are destined or called to be, we must see these human beings as belonging within the allembracing coherences of God’s history with the world” (Moltmann, God, 189).

Reading the Bible in the Global Marketplace

“What do you teach at Regent College?” This seemingly innocent question was broached by the guest master of an Orthodox monastery. I had undertaken a four-day pilgrimage on Mount Athos, the monastic peninsula of the Eastern church. In the course of praying my way from monastery to monastery I struck up a soul friendship with one of the guestmasters. “Marketplace theology is what I teach.” “What’s that?” - his inquisitiveness now aroused by something foreign, he thought, to the spiritual life. “It is the integration of Christian faith with work in the world.” “It’s not possible,” he retorted.  “That’s why I am a monk.” I can understand how he came to that erroneous view. It has to do with how we read the Bible, how we regard the spiritual life and whether the God-coming of Jesus was really into the work-a-day world that we inhabit.

Profit, as defined by the accounting profession, is the excess of a business’s total revenues over total costs. Economists define pure profit as the amount of money remaining after making all payments for productive services and raw materials after the going rate of payments for the capital invested has been deducted. Profit is the estimated claim on wealth that can be used as capital for new efforts to create wealth. A Christian perspective on profit requires a correct understanding of what profit actually is, how it is created, who has a just claim on it and what role it plays in a business, all in the context of a biblical understanding of human nature, stewardship, justice and community.

Culture is a dimension not only in the life of countries and ethnic groups but also in organizations. Every organization has a corporate “feeling” or environment that communicates to new and old members what is important and what is permitted. This is true of businesses, small groups, clubs, churches, nonprofit and parachurch organizations. The minute a person walks into the meeting room, the store, the office or the sanctuary, he or she picks up a nonverbal message that is more powerful than such mottoes as “The customer is number one”; “We exist to give extraordinary service”; “This is a friendly, family church.” Culture turns out to be profoundly influential in determining behavior, expressing values and enabling or preventing change.