You Will Suffer from Your Work, and It Is Not Sin

I feel like I could write a trillion words on the subject, and I hope to write on this in more detail in the coming months (we’ll see). Ajith Fernando captures the essence of my thoughts very well in his article To Serve is To Suffer. He’s hitting a note that you rarely see these days, and I think he’s right on:

I have a large group of people to whom I write asking for prayer when I have a need. Sometimes my need is overcoming tiredness. When I write about this, many write back saying they are praying that God would strengthen me and guide me in my scheduling. However, there are differences in the way friends from the East and some from the West respond.

I get the strong feeling that many in the West think struggling with tiredness from overwork is evidence of disobedience to God. My contention is that it is wrong if one gets sick from overwork through drivenness and insecurity. But we may have to endure tiredness when we, like Paul, are servants of people [emphasis added].

The New Testament is clear that those who work for Christ will suffer because of their work [emphasis added]. Tiredness, stress, and strain may be the cross God calls us to. Paul often spoke about the physical hardships his ministry brought him, including emotional strain (Gal 4:19; 2 Cor 11:28), anger (2 Cor 11:29), sleepless nights and hunger (2 Cor 6:5), affliction and perplexity (2 Cor 4:8), and toiling — working to the point of weariness (Col 1:29). In statements radically countercultural in today’s “body conscious” society, he said, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16); and, “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (2 Cor 4:11-12). I fear that many Christians approach these texts only with an academic interest, not seriously asking how the verses should apply in their lives.

The West, having struggled with the tyrannical rule of time, has a lot to teach the East about the need for rest. The East has something to teach the West about embracing physical problems that come from commitment to people. If you think it is wrong to suffer physically because of ministry, then you suffer more from the problem than those who believe that suffering is an inevitable step on the path to fruitfulness and fulfillment. Since the cross is a basic aspect of discipleship, the church must train Christian leaders to expect hardship. When this perspective enters our minds, pain will not touch our joy and contentment in Christ. In 18 different New Testament passages, suffering and joy appear together. In fact, suffering is often the cause for joy (Rom 5:3-5; Col 1:24; James 1:2-3).

In short, suffering is not just persecution. As Paul’s own example shows, it is also the pain, tiredness (2 Cor 6:5 — even “sleepless nights,” in which I would also include all-nighters), seasons of extensive work (2 Thessalonians 3:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:9), confusion (2 Cor 4:8), emotional pressure (2 Cor 11:28; Gal 4:19), and “non-mind-like-water” mental “weights” that come our way as we are simply being faithful. These things are not automatically signs that we are working too hard. They are often part of the path, and they are supposed to be.

August 11, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Comments

7 Responses to “You Will Suffer from Your Work, and It Is Not Sin”

Ryan on August 11th, 2010 9:51 am

Thanks for sharing this. I remember a friend once telling me that his wife was exhausted after a day caring for their children. Instead of viewing it as something that needed to be changed (which was my instinct) he viewed it as confirmation that she was doing exactly what she should be doing.

That needs some nuancing which I don’t feel like giving here, but I was reminded of it by your post. Thanks again.
Matt Stephens on August 11th, 2010 10:16 am

Amen, Matt. This article was powerful, and so, so timely for me this past weekend. I preached on Col. 1:24-2:5 Friday night, where Paul links his “toiling” to “fully proclaim” the Word of God with “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions on behalf of His body, the Church.” Would that more of us would embrace the Cross, not just for the forgiveness of sins, but also the fulfillment of our God-given mission.

On a different note, do you read iMonk (in spite of Michael Spencer’s passing)? “Chaplain Mike” posted a great article this morning on community and secularization/modernization that I’d be curious to get your thoughts on.

Peace,

Matt
Jack Collins on August 12th, 2010 1:44 am

This has really hit home for me. Thank you for sharing this, I really needed to hear it! jack
Garry Lay on August 12th, 2010 7:33 am

Your comment that “suffering is not just persecution” is exactly correct. Paul describes the full range of suffering in 2 Cor. 12:10, saying that he is content with “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities” (RSV).

Of this list, only two (perhaps only one), is truly “persecution”. The others are things we all experience as a normal part of life. These are ordained by God to highlight our weaknesses and thus allow Christ’s strength to be seen in us.
Matt on August 15th, 2010 7:08 pm

Matt–I haven’t seen that article, but I’ve liked a lot of what I’ve read at iMonk.

Great points, everyone.
Geoff Dotson on November 17th, 2010 11:07 pm

Wow, thank you so much for this post. But, my work, at this point in my life, is not ministry related, so does that mean it is a sin? I am in school and studying for the MCAT. Apart from trying to be a good Christian, I feel my purpose is to become a surgeon. Every morning I wake up read the bible and pray, often I ask for forgiveness for my weariness. I work so hard that multiple times a week, I lose sense of space and time. I am awake, but I feel trapped in a dream. I don’t even feel as if I am the same person, and lost control of my thoughts. I am not getting sick, just really really tired. If my suffering is for God, I will welcome it. Is this the cross God has given me to bear?
Matt on November 22nd, 2010 9:45 am

Geoff,

All the things that I’m saying here apply both to ministry work and “non-ministry” work. It applies to all of our work that we do in faith as Christians, whether it is ministry or not, because our vocations are callings from God. And so God is pleased by our work for him, even if it is not direct ministry, and the suffering and challenges that we encounter are part of the path that he has placed before us.

It is a good thing to seek to cut our work down to a more manageable pace when we can. There are seasons when we don’t have a choice, but to the extent that we can we should seek to create a general pace that is perhaps not as wearying as you are describing here.

I can’t speak in too much detail regarding your specific situation, not knowing it thoroughly. However, my general thought would be that if you want to be a surgeon, are gifted for it, and others in your life believe that it is the right course, then it’s all systems go. Assuming that, then we also know that the being in school and studying for the MCAT is simply a lot of work and very challenging. A lot of that can’t be controlled, and is part of the path. Now, in regards to the extent of tiredness that you describe here, I would seek to talk to a few friends or other people in your life to find ways to make this more manageable. It doesn’t sound healthy to continue in this state of weariness for too long. That doesn’t mean that it is sin; however, it would be smart to figure out a pace that will not be so tiresome. As I discuss above, there are seasons when this is not possible. But do what you can to create a general trajectory that is not going to wear you out over the long term.

Does that make sense?