I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE SACRED MEANING OF EVERYDAY WORK by Robert H Tribken Blog Tour hosted
by Rockstar
Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Robert H Tribken
Pub. Date: January 31, 2023
Publisher: Faith and Enterprise Press
Formats: Paperback
Pages: 272
(An
earlier version was published in 2021as Sacred Rhythm: A Christian Spirituality for Our 21st
Century Work Lives by Robert Tribken.)
It’s time
to engage problems and opportunities with a new sense of purpose.
Work can
sometimes feel like a pressure cooker, with painful levels of stress,
interpersonal conflict, and the risk of burnout. We can lose track of our goals
and maybe even feel as though our work is pointless and going nowhere.
Developing a deeper sense of purpose will help us overcome these problems and
perhaps even flourish in our work lives.
Many of us have a deep, intuitive desire to connect with something deeper than
ourselves; for many, this means a deeper awareness of God and the divine
mystery as we go through the week. And we have a closely related desire to
contribute to the greater good and the well-being of other people through our
work.
These powerful desires can profoundly affect our work lives if we let them
guide us to our deeper purpose.
The Sacred Meaning of Everyday Work will help you find this
new sense of purpose and deal with your challenges and opportunities with
wisdom, strength, and courage.
The author offers practical insights from multiple sources, including the
Bible, contemporary research, and experience in business. He invites you to
consider these in light of your own faith or spirituality and your own work
experience.
This book will help you:
- Find deeper purpose and meaning
in your work and see its spiritual connection.
- Cultivate the character
strengths like courage, integrity, and compassion you need to lead in a
time of uncertainty.
- Overcome work-related problems
like stress, burnout, and interpersonal conflict.
- Adopt short spiritual practices
that help you relax, turn your attention toward God, and focus on the work
at hand with new energy.
- Understand how your work
contributes to the greater good and the well-being of other people.
- See how the values you bring to
your work can encourage the teamwork essential for success.
- Learn what the Bible actually
says about your work’s positive value and its contribution to human
flourishing.
Your work is important for yourself, your family, your coworkers, and society
as a whole. Finding its sacred meaning will help you work with a new sense of
purpose.
Chapter One
Genesis: Human Purpose, Dignity, and Potential
The
meaning we find in our work is heavily influenced by the conceptual
framework through which we view our lives. The Bible speaks to this and
offers insights regarding the inherent dignity of each individual, our
sense of agency and creative drive, and our mysterious relationship to
God.
The
next two chapters offer for your consideration some of these biblical
insights; these generally take a positive view of work and the connection
between our work and our spirituality. Sin, of course, also enters the
picture and spoils our work, as do various misfortunes and adversities;
we will discuss these in later chapters, but for now our starting point
will be to address the positive potential of human work. This is where
the Bible starts.
The First Great Creation Story - Genesis 1
Many
civilizations have creation stories that provide a foundation for how
people see themselves. By going back to a supposed beginning, the
creation story explains how the civilization originated and says
something about the nature of the people and their reality; it is
intended to place their lives into a meaningful context.
The
Bible has two creation stories, both at the beginning of the Bible. The
first is Genesis 1, the first chapter of the first book in the Bible (it
extends slightly past the end of Genesis 1 to Genesis 2:3). This story
addresses the goodness of creation as initially intended by God. It
describes how humans were made in the image of God with all that this
implies for the dignity and worth of the human person. This passage has
important implications for our work life.
The
origins of this first biblical creation story are somewhat murky.
Whenever and by whomever it was written, the story was important to the
Jews being held in captivity in Babylon, five to six hundred years before
the birth of Jesus. For this reason, and to provide a sense of the
story’s importance and radical distinctiveness, it would be good to look
at the Babylonian captivity as background.
Jerusalem,
its Temple, and several other cities were conquered and completely
destroyed by the Babylonian empire around 587 BCE (there were multiple
invasions, over several years). Many Jews (perhaps twenty to twenty-five
thousand) were taken into captivity in Babylon and were held there for
more than fifty years, longer than a typical lifetime.
The
Jews would have been exposed to their Babylonian overlords’ own creation
story, the Enuma Elish. This was a very different story than the creation
story of Genesis 1. In the Babylonian story, there were many gods, and
these gods eventually went to war against each other. A particularly
cunning god by the name of Marduk led one of the factions. In a dramatic
moment of the story, Marduk fought and killed the rival leader, Tiamat,
who was also more or less the mother of the other gods.
After
killing Tiamat, Marduk ripped her body in half and made the sky out of
one half and formed the earth out of the other half. Later on, Marduk
decided that the gods needed servants to do their work, so he killed one
of Tiamat’s defeated followers, cut him open, and used his bone and blood
to form human beings as slaves who would serve the gods.4
Why
was this story important? Perhaps partly because it showed order being
brought out of chaos. But more importantly, the Babylonians were the
chosen people of Marduk and therefore, according to the story, they had
the power and authority to rule humanity on his behalf. And that is why
the captive peoples were under the control of their Babylonian overlords
and always would be. It sounds to me like this story was used as a tool
of oppression.
Genesis
1 served as a counter to the Enuma Elish and other creation stories of
the Ancient Near East. Unlike the Enuma Elish and the others, Genesis 1
has one all-powerful God, as opposed to a host of battling deities. And
in the biblical story, God is good (as is his creation) and has created
humans with value, dignity, and agency in their own right. He did not
create humans to be slaves of the Babylonian oppressors.
I
recommend reading Genesis 1:1-2:3. You might want to prepare by imagining
what it would have been like to be one of the Jewish captives in Babylon.
Imagine having to stand in a public square and listen to Marduk’s story.
Then imagine walking home in the late afternoon; the sun is still up, the
dirt road is dusty and crowded. There is very little noise—maybe an
occasional child or a quiet murmur, and the sound of feet.
As
people return to their villages, they begin to gather in homes and
meeting places—everyone, even the children. After everyone arrives, the
adults close the windows, shut and latch the doors, and light a flame.
And then they listen to a very different creation story, a story of hope,
human dignity, freedom, and the possibility of flourishing lives.
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth
was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a
wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said,
“Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light
was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the
light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and
there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and
let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and
separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that
were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome sky. And
there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together
into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called
the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.
And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth
vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth
that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought
forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of
every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was
good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to
separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for
seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the
sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two
great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light
to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to
give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and
to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.”
So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that
moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged
bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them,
saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and
let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was
morning, the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind:
cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.”
And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind,
and
the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the
ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make
humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he
created them: male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves
upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding
seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in
its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth,
and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the
earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given
every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that
he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there
was morning, the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their
multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done,
and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So
God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God
rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
Genesis 1:1-2:35
Several
aspects of the story might carry special meaning for us, starting with
the idea that there is one God and this God is the source of all that is
(“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. . .”).
There is no talk here of multiple gods or any divisibility or conflict
among divine reality; God is the ground of being, to borrow theologian
Paul Tillich’s expression,6 and the source of all of
reality.
Unlike
other creation stories of the time, including the Enuma Elish, this is
not a story of supernatural beings misbehaving. It is an account of
divine unity and purpose. God is the source and the creative force that
is driving the world (the universe) forward.
God
speaks all the elements of reality into existence. God intends something
and it becomes real; his intention becomes concrete reality. Whatever God
creates is good—very good, maybe by definition.
The
images of the formless void, darkness covering the deep, a wind from God
sweeping over the waters, and God speaking things into existence, are ways of
grappling with the incomprehensible mystery of God and the ineffable
quality of the infinite. But Genesis 1 also provides a link between
divine reality and the concrete world in which we live. God speaks and
the void is transformed; we can see, touch, and observe its material
form.
And
then, in verses 26 to 28, God creates humans in his image. There can be
different views among theologians about what it means to be created in
God’s image, but it seems clear that in this story there is some sort of
mysterious connection between God and humans and that we have been given
a large degree of agency. By agency, I mean that we are able to act on
our own volition and initiative and make decisions based on our own
values and goals—or at least should be able to.
Verse
28 is sometimes called the creation mandate: on behalf of God, we are to
produce and create, in other words, to work. The implication is that people
have a deep, God-given drive to create and work with competence, effectiveness,
and agency. This drive, I believe, is closely tied to our identity as
humans. People should be allowed to bring their full talent to their work
and thereby enjoy the status of co-creator.
Humans as Co-Creators?
Technically
speaking, the Bible never uses the Hebrew word for “create” to describe
human activity, only to describe God’s activity. But this is more of a
semantic issue than a real one. When the Bible speaks of God’s creative
action, it is speaking of creation ex nihilo, in other words,
creating something out of nothing. In the Bible, only God can create
something out of nothing; humans, on the other hand, take matter and
energy that have already been created and convert them into something
usable:
You [God] cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for
people to use to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the
human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the
human heart. Psalm 104:14-15
Looking
at a modern example of the creative process, when the developers of the first
iPhone invented their new product, they worked with matter that was
already there, you might say converting preexisting atoms to new uses.
But while this is not technically creating something out of nothing in
the ex nihilo sense, we would nevertheless describe it as an act
of extraordinary creativity and innovation (thank you, Apple
developers!).
I
would contend that if we look within ourselves, and think about our more
positive motivations, we do, indeed, seem to be designed to build and
create, improve our material circumstances, and constructively contribute
to the greater good. It is inconceivable to me that our role is merely to
maintain things as they are, without creating and building. Most of us
are more fully alive when we are creating and building than when we are
just maintaining the status quo.
Two Additional Perspectives
The
second creation story begins at Genesis 2:4 and takes place in the Garden
of Eden. It has an interesting perspective that relates to humans as
agents of God:
. . .then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a
living being. Genesis 2:7
In
other words, God formed the shape of the first human out of the dust, the
lowest possible material, but the shape did not become a conscious human
being until God breathed his spirit into him.7 This, too,
suggests a deep connection with God.
The
story then goes on to say that God placed the human in the Garden of Eden
to “till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). In other words, in the Bible,
work was part of our nature even before the expulsion from the garden; it
is not the result of sin, though it might be spoiled by it.
The
Bible also offers the idea that God designed and formed each of us
individually before we were born, presumably for a purpose. For example,
God tells the prophet Jeremiah:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born
I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah
1:5
Lest
we think this only applies to prophets and other famous persons, Psalm
139 speaks of humans more generally:
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in
my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made.
Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in
secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written all the days that were formed for
me, when none of them as yet existed.
Psalm 139:13-16
We
see somewhat similar examples of this perspective elsewhere, for example
in Job 10:8-11, Isaiah 49:1, and Galatians 1:15. The point seems to be
that God has purposely formed each of us as distinct individuals.
And
so the Bible offers three complementary images for our identity and our
relationship with God:
1.
Humans are created in God’s image; we are to produce and create. 2. God has
placed his spirit within us.
3.
We were designed and formed for a purpose.
These
seem to point to a deep connection between God and humans and to each
individual’s inherent dignity, agency, and purposefulness. People who can
express these through their work often feel a deep sense of fulfillment
and satisfaction; I believe this is an important clue to our
identity.
Human Dignity
These
biblical images speak to the dignity of each individual human. They
suggest that each one of us has been created in the image of God and with
God’s spirit within us. No matter what our circumstances or station in
life, we have a fundamental dignity and worth that should be respected.
This applies to ourselves and to everyone with whom we come in contact.
Recognizing
the fundamental dignity of our fellow humans, as unique individuals, has
practical implications. We are more likely to form productive, collaborative
working relationships with people whom we respect at a deep level. And
people who are respected and valued as persons are more likely to bring
their full talents and creativity to their work and to find purpose and
pleasure in doing so.
People
should also be free of coercion. Different individuals have different
views of what the good life entails; recognizing their dignity means
allowing them to pursue their own version of this, at least to the extent
that it does not interfere with the rights of others.
Some
employers see their employees as unique individuals and as valuable
resources, while others seem to see them primarily as an expense. Seeing
the potential in people and allowing them to develop and express it
through their work (and elsewhere) can make a huge difference in their
lives and the contribution they make to the organization’s goals.
Increasing numbers of employers have begun to see this.
I
have seen this played out as I visited the plants of my company’s
suppliers. In some cases, it was obvious that people (I am thinking especially
of line workers) were engaged in their work and seemed to feel that they
were contributing. In one start-up in which I was involved, the
production manager made sure everyone on the line knew they were responsible
for the quality of the products and could reject items and even stop
production on their own authority if they saw something that was not
right. They were also encouraged to provide advice about possible process
improvements as they gained experience. The people were respected as
humans and took pride in their work and responsibility, and it
showed.
On
the other hand, I have seen plants with similar formal production
processes but where the line workers were, for the most part, disengaged
and just followed orders. Their productivity appeared to be quite
different.
Dignity
is not just a matter of kindness. I have seen situations where the owners
or managers treated people very well and provided pay and other benefits
well beyond the industry norm, but the employees nevertheless seemed
bored and disengaged. I believe that, in at least some cases, this was
because the work was designed in a way that removed initiative.
This
illustrates the problem with seeing workers as people who need our
compassion but not as individual agents capable of bringing talent and
initiative to their work. People made in the image of God are capable of
so much more than we sometimes realize.
At
a church retreat several years ago, we watched a video about Max De Pree,
who was the chief executive officer of the Herman Miller furniture
company at the time. As De Pree interacted on the production floor with
some of his line employees, it was evident that he encouraged people to
bring their ideas and expertise into the discussion and to act on their
own initiative. He recognized that they brought their unique talents to
their work and had become the experts on their part of the
manufacturing process.
Afterward,
we broke into small groups for discussion. I asked my group (mostly
small-business owners and independent contractors) to picture a
conventional CEO who gives speeches about maximizing shareholder value,
and to compare this image to that of Max De Pree as portrayed in the video.
Then
I asked two questions:
For
whom would you prefer to work?
The
response was immediate and unanimous: Max De Pree.
Who
do you think would be the most likely to
maximize
shareholder value?
Again, the response was unanimous (and
enthusiastic): Max De Pree. The reaction to the second question was especially
interesting. I think it acknowledges what many of us know intuitively but
do not often express— that people are more likely to be productive and engaged
if they have a chance to apply more of their talents and insights to
their work and to participate in creating and producing valued goods and
services. Not all employees will respond positively to this opportunity,
of course, but many will—and those who do so will drive the organization
and determine its culture and values.
About Robert H Tribken:
Rob Tribken has been in business for over four decades and is the founder of several businesses. Along the way, he has had to deal with many of the most difficult issues people face in their work lives.
Over the years, Tribken became interested in the connection between faith, spirituality, and work. Several decades spent working in business combined with several years studying theology and becoming acquainted with organized Christianity convinced him that there is a great need to find better ways for churches to minister to people in the vocational aspects of their lives. He launched the Center for Faith and Enterprise to meet this need and help people experience a new sense of purpose, fulfillment, and effectiveness in their work lives.
Tribken’s educational background helps him explore the connections between faith, spirituality, and work. He earned an MBA from The Harvard Business School and an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Tribken is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation at Fuller. He has also spent considerable time researching positive organizational psychology and has incorporated findings in his writings.
Tribken has led retreats, taught classes, led groups engaged in contemplative practices, and spoken on the subjects of spiritual practices, connecting faith and work, business as a calling, and the role of business in ending poverty. In addition to his work with the CFE, he has been involved with several other non-profit organizations dealing with the connection between faith and work. In past years, he has served as a volunteer Chairman of the Board of Partners Worldwide, a board member of the Max DePree Center for Leadership, and an advisor to entrepreneurs.
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Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of THE SACRED MEANING OF EVERYDAY WORK, US Only.
Ends February 18th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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1/30/2023 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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1/31/2023 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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2/1/2023 |
Guest Post |
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2/2/2023 |
Guest Post |
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2/3/2023 |
Spotlight/IG Post |
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2/4/2023 |
Excerpt |
Week Two:
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2/5/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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2/6/2023 |
Review |
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2/7/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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2/8/2023 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
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2/9/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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2/10/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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2/11/2023 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
Week Three:
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2/12/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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2/13/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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