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The PursueGOD Men's podcast helps guys apply God's Word to their lives to become full circle followers of Jesus. Join us for a new men's episode every other Thursday.
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HOW A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IMPACTS OUR WORK
Work takes up a massive portion of our lives. For most of us, it shapes our schedules, our identities, and often our sense of worth. That’s why Scripture has so much to say about it. The Bible doesn’t treat work as a necessary evil or a purely secular task. Instead, it invites us to see work through the lens of worship, purpose, and redemption. When our worldview is shaped by the gospel, it transforms not only why we work, but how we work.
One of the first ways work exposes our hearts is by revealing our idols. An idol isn’t just a statue or a false god—it’s anything we elevate above God or rely on to meet needs only He can fulfill. Work becomes an idol when it takes priority over obedience to God or becomes our source of identity, security, or meaning.
Exodus 20:4–5 (NLT) says, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind… You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” While work is a good gift, good things often become the sneakiest idols. We justify them because they seem productive, responsible, or even virtuous. But when work dominates our thoughts, defines our value, or replaces trust in God’s provision, it has crossed a line.
Jesus speaks directly to this tension in Matthew 6:31–34 (NLT). “So don’t worry about these things… These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” The issue isn’t thinking about work or provision—it’s what dominates our hearts. Scripture never calls us to escape the physical world. Ecclesiastes reminds us that enjoyment and satisfaction in work are gifts from God. But those gifts are meant to point us back to Him, not replace Him.
The gospel reshapes how we see work by reshaping our worldview. Every worldview answers three core questions: How are things supposed to be? What went wrong? And how can it be fixed? The biblical worldview uniquely answers all three relationally. We were created for relationship with God. Sin broke that relationship. And grace restores it through Jesus.
That framework changes everything about work. As Tim Keller explains, Christianity doesn’t locate the problem of the world in a specific group, system, or occupation—it locates it in sin itself. That means no job is inherently evil, and no field is beyond hope. God created the world good. Sin affected all of it. And God intends to redeem all of it.
Romans 8:19–22 (NLT) describes creation itself groaning for redemption. Our work exists inside that story. We labor in a broken world, but not a hopeless one. Even now, God is at work restoring what sin has damaged, and He invites us to participate.
That’s why believers shouldn’t compartmentalize work as separate from their faith. Work isn’t just something we do Monday through Friday while faith is reserved for Sunday. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NLT) says, “Whatever you do, do well.” Excellence honors God—not because it earns His favor, but because it reflects His character.
God often provides for people through the work of others. Farmers grow food. Builders create shelter. Teachers shape minds. This is true whether the worker is a believer or not. That reality should deepen our respect for all work, not just “ministry” roles.
1 Peter 4:10–11 (NLT) reminds us that every gift is meant to serve others and bring glory to God. Whether we speak, build, design, manage, or serve, our work becomes worship when it’s done in dependence on God’s strength and for His glory.
A biblical worldview doesn’t minimize work or idolize it. Instead, it integrates work into God’s bigger story—creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. When we work as unto the Lord, we find freedom from idols, dignity in our labor, and hope that even ordinary work matters in God’s eternal plan.
