Vertical Christianity
June 7, 2025 – Dr. David P. Craig, Founder, Vertical Living Ministries
Valuing Work: Key Scriptures
Genesis 2:15, Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
Colossians 3:17 & 23-24, And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve the Lord Christ.
Valuing Work Statement: There are two extremes that some people battle with work: Laziness and workaholism. Neither of these are good. We want to strike a balance of being the best workers we can be, but also knowing when its time to stop. Work is God’s invention and God’s expectation is that we should work hard and smart and get rest. He doesn’t want us to be lazy or over worked and be constantly stressed. God wants us, like in everything, to have a balanced work week.
Statements of How NOT to work:
- Peter Drucker “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
- Tim Keller, “You cannot have a proper work theology unless you have a proper rest theology…To violate the rhythm of work and rest leads to chaos in our life and the world around us.”
- Lou Holtz, “Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the tradeoff they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.”
Statements of How To Work as a Christian:
- Tim Keller, ““Work is as much a basic human need as food, beauty, rest, friendship, prayer, and sexuality; it is not simply medicine but food for our soul. Without meaningful work we sense significant inner loss and emptiness. People who are cut off from work because of physical or other reasons quickly discover how much they need work to thrive emotionally, physically, and spiritually…The way to do work as a Christian is to do it well.”
- C.S. Lewis, “I don’t believe that good work is ever done in a hurry.”
- Pele, “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love what you are doing and learning to do.”
- John Owen, “God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority. It is not enough that we be just, that we be righteous, and walk with God in holiness; but we must also serve our generation, as David did before he fell asleep. God hath a work to do; and not to help Him is to oppose Him.”
- Dorothy Sayers wrote, “What is the Christian understanding of work?. . . It is that work is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties . . . the medium in which he offers himself to God.”
- Roy Zuck, “There are four main bones in every organization: The wishbones: Wishing somebody would do something about the problem. The jawbones: Doing all the talking but very little else. The knucklebones: Those who knock everything. The backbones: Those who carry the brunt of the load and do most of the work.”
Aligning Your Work With Your Strengths:
No matter what you do there are going to be days you wish you did something else for a living. I love being a pastor most of the time because I get to operate primarily in my areas of passion and strengths and get to delegate my weaknesses – things that I can do – but that I’m not passionate about so I can devote more time to what I am passionate about. But those things still need to get done. It wasn’t until I was about forty years old that I recognized what I do best. Studies show that satisfied and effective workers need to spend about 70% of their time in their sweet spot – operating in their areas of greatest skills and passion in order to enjoy and be effective in their job.
In my Vertical Life Plan, since I am a pastor, I have a few particular areas where I write down my goals for each year and how I will achieve them. My particular strengths involve preaching & teaching, leadership development, discipleship and mentoring, and shepherding and counseling – so that’s where I spend over 70% of my time. You should also identify your 3-5 greatest strengths and set goals for how you will achieve effectiveness in your work by maximizing your strengths and seek to delegate your weaknesses to those who are strong in your areas of weakness.
In the past decade I have spent more time in these areas and I have never been more excited or more effective than I am in my current work situation. Because I know my strengths and weaknesses I am able to staff my work team in a way where everyone operates 70% of the time or more in their sweet spots. Whether you are a bread maker, car salesman, engineer or whatever it is you do for a living its important to figure out what your particular skills are – what you are good at and enjoy about your work; and what you are passionate about. Sometimes you have to pay your dues before you can make a living working at the 70% satisfaction standard. This should be a goal for you to find satisfaction in your work.
I hope that you are the best worker where you work for the glory of God. As Christians the vertical worker is the person that works hard, smart, efficiently, effectively, and has integrity. I hope that you see your work as unto the Lord and that those you work with know that you are a follower of Jesus – and as a result are attracted to Him because of your work ethic and how you make your work environment better for everyone – this was God’s intention in Eden and its the same today. God made work good and its still good when we work as unto the Lord and we are good stewards of what He has given us to do.
John Rushkin wrote, “When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” Master chef Gordon Ramsey said, “If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that’s exactly what I did.” I hope that you love what you do and that you are always seeking to improve in your work. One of the best things you can do to improve in your work is to strive to be the best at what you do. Be intentional and schedule how you will continue to learn and grow in 70% of what you do. Your work is significant and God made us to work. Read good books, get more education, and seek mentors to help you in areas of skill and character that will help you enjoy your work, and strive to do your best as unto Christ for the glory of God.
Three Great Resources on the subject of Work from a Christian Perspective:
- Wayne Grudem. Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business.
- Tim Keller. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work.
- Patrick Morley. A Man’s Guide to Work: 12 Ways To Honor God On The Job.
LifeCoach4God 