Faithbook: Work, not Works - On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Work, not Works

Over at Christianity Today, senior managing editor Mark Galli wrote ‘On Not Changing the World.’ Galli notes the pitfalls and even un-Christian-ness of the desire to upend a culture. The real Christian, he implies, is the one who performs the service of Christ, for the Father who sees in secret. Galli writes:

I hesitate to cheer for cultural transformation, though not because I like the world just the way it is. Hardly. I read the paper this morning. I hesitate, not because I don't believe that the church impacts the world. It has impacted the world and will continue to do so. I hesitate because I think the goal of transforming our city, our culture, or our world can lead to little good.

and

To be sure, Christians ought to care about the sad plight of the culture and the world. And we ought to recognize that we are at least partly responsible for the mess. Then we should recognize that God wants us to work against injustice and evil.

and

We worry that if we don't boldly proclaim that we can "change the world," everybody will give up before we even begin. We all face the common temptation of Adam and Eve. We want to feel significant. We want to feel like we're players. We want to make a difference in the world. And only by imagining that we can change the world do we think our actions have any meaning.
This, of course, runs in the opposite direction of Jesus' ethic, which is about service. Servants aren't about world-changing initiatives as much as about washing the dirty feet of the travelers sitting at their kitchen table. Jesus never tells us to do anything because it will transform the culture.

He wants us to do the thankless work, the grueling work, the essential work. That is the vocation of Christ’s followers.

This Summer, I have been slowly reading Kathleen Norris’ beautiful book, The Cloister Walk. In one section, Norris ponders an idea which I have also asked myself:

I said I often wondered if being a Christian was something we could, or should, claim for ourselves; that if being a Christian meant incarnating the love of Christ in my own life, then maybe it would be best to let others tell me how well, or how badly, I’m doing.

I am in absolute agreement with Norris that the proclamation of one’s own Christian-ness can be a prideful, even contradictory act. For me, despite all my religious frustration and spiritual turmoil, I know one thing for sure: I hope I am a Christian. I want to be a Christian.

There is work to be done.

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Elizabeth, great thoughts.

You conclude by saying there is work to be done.

Very interesting because the whole notion of "work" is about to change and everything you have ever thought of before will never seem the same again.

Instead of finding "jobs" for people as if we were helping them, consider the following:

http://TeamInfinity.com/ROBOTIC_WAGELESS_wp_te

This ROBOTIC WAGELESS ECONOMY will once and for all convert the 99% of the population who are nothing but modern day slaves/serfs into the same position of the 1% of the elite for whom they toil.

Before cognitive dissonance rejects this notion out of your mind, please do fully ponder what we are talking about here... and how all the justifications for just about everything, i.e. all churches, all forms of government, all political and social thought which served to explain the state of human affairs will be rendered inane. No longer will people serve other people...

And before you say this cannot be, realize it is coming on its own and that the ecomomy itself is simply a big machine and is devouring people with its wars and meaningless toil.

please share your thoughts Elizabeth, it is obvious your are enlightened.

Posted by: System Operator | August 17, 2007 12:34 AM
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