Discipleship and the Work Ethic

For most people work is an inescapable fact of life. It is the customary means by which one obtains the physical necessities of existence. For the radical Christian, work is a material reality that must be confronted in terms of the transcendent values of the kingdom of God. It is a constant reminder that, although we are fundamentally separate from the kingdom of humanity, we are nonetheless very much involved in the world. As disciples, our relationship to the Lord Jesus demands that our orientation toward all aspects of our lifestyle be consistent with loyalty to Jesus Christ and obedience to his ethical teachings.

The case of the original disciples alerts us to the fact that discipleship inevitably affects our attitude and response to work. According to the New Testament, some of the first disciples--Simon, Andrew, James, John, and Levi--responded to Jesus’ “Follow me” by immediately breaking with their present occupations and radically altering their mode of existence (Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:27, 28). The occupational role of the disciples thus became a secondary consideration contingent on their new identity as loyal followers of the Messiah. The precedent set by these early disciples points toward a truly Christian perspective on work. Their example clearly demonstrates that allegiance to the Lord Jesus must be the disciple’s chief priority, taking precedence over and conditioning all other aspects of his lifestyle. The demanding implications of Christian discipleship penetrate to the existential level of employment. The Christian finds that his Lord’s perspective toward work clashes strongly with that of the secular.