I read a quote from Dorothy Sayers, the author/play-write from the 1940's, that I felt worth posting. It comes from this book.
 |
| Dorothy Sayers |
I've long felt that when church leaders elevate the role of pastor/teacher as being exclusively synonymous w/ "ministry" and "true service to God" that this action has a devaluing effect upon the more "common" vocations of life, say: architect, mom, musician and Nascar driver. This is unfortunate, as this mindset consolidates the call/work of "ministry" solely unto the "vocational class" of church-people (which apparently is a fine choice, 1 Tim. 3:1). A better approach is to equally see ALL people as image bearers of God & ALL forms of work as potentially "good" work, able to to be redeemed by Jesus and used by his people as sacred service unto God. (excluding work which is exploitative & dehumanizing)
...and now for the quote:
"Let the Church remember this: that every maker and worker is called to serve God in his profession or trade—not outside it. The Apostles complained rightly when they said it was not good they should leave the word of God and serve tables; their vocation was to preach the word. But the person whose vocation it is to prepare the meals beautifully might with equal justice protest: It is not good for us to leave the service of our tables to preach the word."
-Dorothy Sayers (circa 1942)
Hey Bryan,
ReplyDeleteJust read this yesterday in an essay by Wendell Berry (author/farmer) about how Americans largely view work as something to be escaped from as much as possible:
"But is work something that we have a right to escape? And can we escape it with impunity? We are probably the first entire people ever to think so. All the ancient wisdom that has come down to us counsels otherwise. It tells us that work is necessary to us, as much a part of our condition as mortality; that good work is our salvation and our joy; that shoddy or dishonest or self-serving work is our curse and our doom. We have tried to escape the sweat and the sorrow promised in Genesis - only to find that, in order to do so, we must forswear love and excellence, health and joy."