​By Allan Mugarura.

My first key takeaway from the book was that God created everything, which is evident by His creation, implying that there was work right from the beginning by the creator, but this work was designed in a way that the creator delights in (Gen 1:31) and continues to care for. (Gen 2:21-22, Psalm 104:10-22)

God then commissions workers to carry on His work (Gen 1:28, 2:15), the implication that while God works for us as our Provider, we also work for Him as He works through us, meaning He feeds us through the labor of farmers and other “supply chain” people Psalm 127: 1. ​

​ Photo: Allan Mugarura
Whereas God commissions us to carry on His work, we are called to view work as service, where God the creator has called and assigned not only as individuals, but also as a community, whereby He brings us into a relationship with not only himself but also with a body of believers, equipping us all with talents and gifts for various kinds of work.

Work then becomes inevitable, becoming less about the work itself and us in a sense of serving and exalting something beyond ourselves, namely status and titles; looking at work like this delivers our aggressiveness from eventually becoming abuse, our drive from becoming burnt out, and our self-sufficiency from becoming self-loathing.

One of the ideas that stood out to me was that God is a working God, and His work reveals His power, wisdom, and glory, which then provides a sense of relief that my work in this world is not meaningless because we were made in God’s image and given the ability to create, serve, solve problems, and contribute to the world around us, which reflects something of the character of the God who made us when we work in whatever vocation

Yet in our sinfulness, I must confess that we are prone to make work determine our worth; it is easy to build our identity around our jobs, achievements, titles, or even the approval of other people, and it is very clear reading the first part of the book that those things change, and there is an emphasis from scripture that our work should never carry the weight of telling us who we are.

I’ve learned and continue to learn that my deepest identity comes from God alone. I belong to Him, and His love, not my productivity or success, should be the foundation of my value. This changes the way I think about vocation, that through my work I am serving my God and also loving my neighbors, whether my work appears impressive to others or not.

I’ve been called to simply do it faithfully, work diligently and with gratitude, trusting God with the outcome. I am learning to see work as a gift and a responsibility, but not as the source of my identity, so I approach it with purpose, humility, and joy, seeking to honor God in what I do while remembering that my worth rests in Him.

Part Two; Our Problems with Work

Having learned about work and God’s design for it in the first part of the book, the author now labors in the second part to paint a picture of how the effects of sin entering into the world through our fore-parents impact work negatively and affect the entire creation.

Our foreparent’s sin against God ends up affecting us all (Genesis 3:16-19), which implies that there is no distinction between “worldly” and “sacred,” as many Christians tend to divide the spaces and activities in the world, and yet absolutely every part of human life—soul, body, private, public, and laboring—is all affected by sin.

Sin warps every part of our nature, every aspect of human living; it distorts the areas of sex, gender, love, and marriage; it affects personal and private life but also public and social life and, in particular, work.

Hence, under sin, work becomes painful toil, often fruitless, meaning that in all our work we will be able to envision far more than we can accomplish both because of a lack of ability and because of resistance in the environment around us. The experience of our work will include pain, conflict, envy, and fatigue, and not all our goals will be met.

The author then points us to Ecclesiastes 2:17 and discusses how work becomes pointless under the sun. He says when we work, we want to make an impact, which can mean getting personal recognition for our work, making a difference in our field, or doing something to make the world a better place, and nothing is more satisfying than a sense that through our work we have accomplished some lasting achievements.

Yet on the flip side, whether quickly or slowly. All the results of our toil will be wiped away by history; the person who picks up the cause or organization after you may undo all that you have done, so work under the sun is meaningless because it does not last, and so it takes away our hope in the future. It also alienates us from God and from one another, so it takes away our joy in the present.

Work does not only become pointless; it also becomes selfish. Where we see this in Genesis 11:2-4, the motive behind the Tower of Babel is to make a name for themselves; they wanted to take their new talents and discoveries to use them in a big city so that they could maximize

their power, glory, and autonomy, we see an identity crisis there that manifests in two ways: the first one is assigning a spiritual value to their work that they would be better off getting from God, leading to materialism; the second is the desire not to be scattered over the face of the earth, meaning that they get a name from being gathered into a large group.

What I found striking is the author’s point that idolatry has power over how we live, because it captures our hearts, and it’s more than believing in something false but giving a created thing a place in our hearts that only belongs to God. In other words, career, reputations, and achievements, good in themselves, can become harmful when we depend on them to give us lasting security and value or meaning.

Martin Luther’s insight in the book helped me understand that any wrongdoing against God often begins with idolatry beneath. A lie, a broken promise, or a selfish decision may seem like an isolated mistake, but it can reveal what we value most. Perhaps we lie because we fear losing someone’s approval, perhaps we break a promise because our own comfort matters more to us, or perhaps we act selfishly because we believe we must protect our success or prove our importance. In each case, our outward action grows from a deeper conviction that something other than God’s love is necessary for our happiness and significance.

I also learned that the things I worship shape not only what I desire but also how I work and treat others. When achievement, status, or belonging takes God’s place in my heart, those things begin to rule me and eventually make me anxious, proud, dishonest, or even unkind, because I am trying to get from them what they cannot ultimately provide.

I am learning that my deepest security must come from God’s love, rather than from what I achieve or how others see me, which doesn’t mean my work is unimportant, but that I can actually take it seriously without making it the measure of my worth. I can strive to do it well, accepting my limitations, while celebrating others.

My prayer is that God gives us the humility to receive every opportunity and accomplishment, or even failure, with gratitude, trusting that our worth rests in His grace, and our deepest hopes that may not be fulfilled now will be fulfilled in the new creation.

Allan Mugarura leads the Lugogo Faith and Work Cohort. Every Good Endeavor can be purchased here or lent out free to read, if you reach out.