This is a great question that most of us have asked ourselves at some point or another. This question gets traction with us because we do not understand work and the One who designed us for it. This week The Collaborative is launching its Vocational Guild Initiative. Our launch week includes three events that are serving as primers to help people understand guilds and why they are worthy of our time. While grossly, oversimplified one of the reasons vocational guilds are important is to answer the question this week’s article by Art Lindsley is asking—Is your work spiritual enough?
Is Your Work Spiritual Enough?
By Dr. Art Lindsley
How many of us feel our work is not “spiritual” enough or doesn’t matter in God’s grand design? Understanding this concept of a “priesthood of all believers” can help us see how all our vocations bear great importance.
The priesthood of all believers is an important biblical idea that has great implications for our personal spirituality, our public life in the church and the world, and our work.
So what is the priesthood of all believers and what does it have to do with faith and work?
When Martin Luther referred to the priesthood of all believers, he was maintaining that the plowboy and the milkmaid could do priestly work. In fact, their plowing and milking was priestly work. There was no hierarchy in which the priesthood was a “vocation” and milking the cow was not. Both were tasks that God called his followers to do, each according to their gifts.
The Priesthood of All Believers in Scripture
The priesthood of all believers is based on the clear teaching of scripture. The Old Testament anticipates this reality:
- God says to his people at Sinai, “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6).
- Isaiah says that a time will come when “you shall be called the priests of the Lord; [people] shall speak of you as the ministers of our God” (Isa. 61:6).
Thanks to Jesse Orrico for the photo from Unsplash
