Is it possible to hold a "secular" job and still please God? Or would it be better to quit one's job and go into the ministry? Consider:

If Christ is Lord over all of life, then he must be Lord over work, too. Whatever we do for work, we should do it "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Colossians 3:17), that is, with a concern for his approval and in a manner that honors him.

All legitimate work matters to God. God is a worker. In fact, human occupations find their origin in God's work to create the world (Psalm 8:6-8). Work is a gift.

God designs people to carry out different kinds of work. God fits us uniquely for certain kinds of tasks so that we can carry out his work in the world. That work includes not only spiritual tasks, but also extends to everyday fields of work.

God values our work even when the product has no eternal value. "Will the work last? Will it really count for eternity?" Our assumption is that God values work for eternity, but not work for the here and now. Ordinary jobs have only limited value, we think, because they meet only earthly needs. But this way of thinking overlooks several important truths:

• God's own creation is time-bound and temporary. Yet He values his work, declaring it to be "very good," good by its very nature (Genesis 1:31).

• God promises rewards to people in everyday jobs, based on their attitude and conduct (Ephesians 6:7-9).

• God cares about the everyday needs of people as well as their spiritual needs. To the extent that a job serves human needs, he values it because he values people.

God cares more about character and conduct than occupational status. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12:28-31 is about various gifts, not vocations. At the time Paul wrote it, there were few if any "professional" clergy in the church. Paul himself was a tentmaker by occupation. Other church leaders practiced a wide variety of professions and trades. God may assign rank among the spiritual gifts, but there's no indication that he looks at jobs that way.

The Spirit empowers us to live and work with Christlikeness. We can expect the Spirit to enable us to use our God-given skills and abilities to bring glory to God. That has enormous implications for how we do our jobs.

Though our culture's hierarchy assumes sacred and secular distinctions and frequently assigns priority to the sacred (particularly among Christians), God does not. He values jobs, but his concern is for our character and our relationship with him.