Matt’s Marvelous Mailbag seeks to provide marginally adequate answers to much better questions about politics, economics, social life, theology, or any potpourri you see fit to have answered. Send questions to mailbag.bereans@gmail.com.  

Well, I had planned on sharing another musical recommendation this week, but Dr. Smith has preempted me by a mile and half, barging onto my turf with a whole playlist of top hits and shanties. So, in the time-honored craft of one-upsmanship, I will be mercilessly reviewing blockbuster movies for the next year and a half and assigning eggheads as duly appropriate, all penalties and tut-tuttings to the contrary be cursed….I kid, of course. My one actual critique of the list is the noticeable absence of Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer, particularly his wonder hit, Nicknackatory.

But, time-honored traditions will continue to be honored here, in particular our custom here on the mailbag of commemorating the holidays with a reflection. A few months back, a friend and I were discussing theology, and we happened upon the theology of work. He mentioned that in his younger days, it seemed apparent to him that if one was a Christian, the only logical, vocational choice would be full-time ministry. His younger self certainly wasn’t alone in that sentiment; I remember hearing from teachers that Christians should first consider full-time ministry and only spring for “secular” jobs when they had been utterly convinced not to go into full-time ministry. I’m not here to knock that school of thought necessarily because there is a logic to it. With the stakes so high, why waste our time with anything else? There are souls to be saved, right? The only thing worth our time is evangelism 24/7.

But, on went our conversation, and my friend shared that later on his life he came to the conclusion that more went into the Christian life than just evangelism. A well-lived Christian life should be witness enough to get those around you to notice the difference and start asking questions. Christians should be more diligent, more generous, more kind-hearted, more etc. on average than those around them. Once again, there is a logic to this view. Scripture tells us that we should know the brethren by their fruit and love. Our works are to shine before all men that they may eventually know the Father. After all, that’s the best witness isn’t it?

As with many parts of life, there isn’t one neat, little answer beyond, “Make a wise decision in your occupation.” For some, full-time ministry is the obvious choice; others find full and complete satisfaction in more standard walks of life. That’s obvious enough upon some reflection, but I think there’s something we tend to forget wherever we fall on this spectrum of thought. In general, we tend to assign “bonus points” as it were to lives with more immediate showings of earthly or heavenly success. Billy Graham witnesses to millions; Mother Theresa cares for the poor; D.L. Moody evangelizes the country; Pastor Bill serves his congregation for 65 years; this Christian invents a brand new tech that will revolutionize industry Y. Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, we should commend those people for their accomplishments.

At the same time though, who are we forgetting or relegating to a lesser importance? Well, their parents or some other authority figures in their lives to start with. Perhaps there was a policeman one day whose actions saved their lives, even if they didn’t recognize it. There were A/V technicians at the Billy Graham crusades and accountants for that innovative Christian and his business. They all had to eat, so we need dutiful farmers to grow crops and well-educated engineers to build the roads/equipment necessary to transport them. They certainly weren’t naked, which means tailors were involved as well. There were doctors just going about their business to keep these superstars healthy, and I’m sure there were some mild-mannered folks who paid them a healthy compliment at just the right second too. Oh, and someone had to share the gospel with Billy Graham, not to say anything of the person who shared the gospel with the person who shared the gospel with Billy Graham.

I could go on this tangent literally forever; the web of connections is irreducibly complex. I suspect that when most of us Christians hear “do all to the glory of God,” we have grand aspirations in our minds. But, realistically, most of life for most people is fairly quiet, mundane, and often droll. Yet, that is no less a place for faithfulness than in the glittering lights of Christian stardom. Your role in life may be to live a solid, stable Christian life and raise a generation of kids who will repeat that same process. It may be to have an indirect effect on someone who will end up in Christian stardom. Maybe you do end up being a Christian star. Maybe a whole train of events is preparing you for one single, vital moment which you may not even realize the importance of at that time. The simple fact is that I don’t know, and neither do you. None of us do ultimately, and I suppose that’s why God tells us not to worry about the future. We don’t know how our actions or non-actions are going to play out in the eternal scheme, and the best any of us can do is to live well, follow Christ the best we know how, and trust Him for the rest. I rather suspect there is far less guessing of God’s will that goes into Christian living than we normally think of.

Back in my younger days, there was a workout program called P90X (it’s still a proper whippin’ of a workout if you ever try it), and the leader, Tony Horton, had a phrase he would use all the time: “Do your best and forget the rest.” Not too shabby advice I’d say. If you care to amend it, “Do your best and let God take the rest.” If you have a heart that wants to follow Christ, I’m inclined to think He’ll honor that in just about any occupation you find yourself in.

Alright, folks, that’s all I got. Keep the faith, work heartily in whatever you’re doing, and have a blessed Labor Day.