What the Church should be telling [the carpenter] is this: that the very first demand his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables. — Dorothy Sayers, “Why Work”
Dorothy Sayers is neither the first nor the last believer to make such a statement. An unverified story concerning Martin Luther records a similar pronouncement; he tells a cobbler that glorifying God means making good shoes. Willie Morris of faithbox echoes them.
Putting your hands to work glorifies God—the One who gave you the ability to use your hands in the first place. Hustle to be faithful in your work […] to do your job with excellence as a testimony to the work God is doing in you.
Work matters to God—all work. He makes no distinction between the secular and sacred. He simply asks his children to use their talents and gifts to make his name greater and more glorious.
God also cares about how the work is performed. A good table or shoes are great, but not at the expense of character. A good table arises from a good artisan, a person dedicated to the craft. They spend hours and hours learning, studying, experimenting. They exercise the talent, and it grows in response.
The artisan matures, too. How can they not when honing their talent? Developing it demands patience, persistence, and prayer. Their minds and souls expand beneath the attention, and they become capable of artistry once only dreamed of.
The artisan’s work doesn’t end there; dreams accomplished lead to more dreams and challenges because of a singular secret: they work in tandem with God as sub-creators. They beg him to bless the work of their hands in order to give him glory for his lovingkindness and truth. They discover the joy of spending their gifts and talents on and for the One who multiplies bread and fishes, keeps jars of oil full.
Image: Marco Enzo Squillacioti (Creative Commons)
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