Work As Calling
Work is what we do during the day to produce something of value or offer needed services. The Bible assumes that work is a major and important part of life (Ecclesiastes 2:17-26). Christians are exhorted to work-and to do their work wen. There is no place for dishonesty or laziness in a Christian's work life. Although there is a wide variety of appropriate work for the Christian, work must not contradict or interfere with one's vocation.
The questions for a Christian to ask regarding work and money are those of motivation (Am I in it solely for the money?), origin (At whose expense is this money made?), and the amount (When is the amount of money too little or too much?). "Got to make a living" is a thoughtless phrase that squelches serious consideration of these questions. In response to questions about money in our jobs, several general observations can be made. First, there is nothing unchristian about making a lot of money from a job. Second, there is something unchristian about making money if it is done in immoral or unethical ways. Third, there is also something unchristian about the primary pursuit of money to the exclusion of the rest of one's vocation. Jesus taught that trust in God and not concern over money should be the motivating force in our lives (Matthew 6:19-34).
Bryce E. Nelson (1945- ) and Dwight A. Nelson (1948- ), “And What Do You Do?”: Biblical Perspectives on Vocation and Work (1984), p. 12.
Why do we need meaningful labor? Why, because it is in our labor that we chiefly glorify God; it is the offering of our available strength to the One who created us. If a human being has spent his or her entire week goofing off, has made nothing lovely to contemplate, how shall he or she come into the courts of the Lord on the Sabbath with a tongue fit to praise the Creator of the universe?
Let us be careful. God does not love us because we have been faithful at our labor, much less because we praise him with empty words. The best work of a transcendent genius is a poor thing compared to the handiwork of God. We do not work to earn God's approval. We work because a loving Father has gotten through to us with his love, and in the joy of that recognition, we do what we can in our limited ways, confident that as once we brought our childish scrawls to wise and loving parents we may bring the flawed offerings of our mature strength to him as a sign of our love and praise. That is what Chesterton meant when he said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” We cannot be perfect. Therefore we can work. joyfully.
In the world as God intended it, every human being would have good work to do--good work meaning something with usefulness attached to it, and deep pleasure in the doing of it, a labor appropriate to every strength. In that world, the measure of a man or a woman would be the quality of their work. A joyfully effective street-sweeper would be honored before a slovenly manager, an honest carpenter before a crooked king.
Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “He Satisfies of Strength with Labor” (1985)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), pp. 130,131.
On the train [to Omaha, July 15, 1902], among others I conversed with Nebraska’s most famous man, W[illiam].J[ennings] Bryan from Lincoln. I screwed up courage and introduced myself to him “and he was very glad to see me.” He was returning from Dakota where he had delivered lectures on the victorious nations. He thinks, speaks, and writes so vigorously that his hair falls all over his face. Usually he appears strong and healthy. He is an articulate and educated man, talkative and animated. His eyes alternate sharpness and kindliness.
Among other matters he said: America's peril is its opulence and easy riches. Generally, show me persons who have come into wealth quickly and show me one of them with a good character or one who unselfishly serves his neighbor. Luck produces money and possessions without purifying character and motives of service. The great trusts take the bread of the working people and reduce their daily wages. In this way anarchy is fostered among us. The majority of America's preachers cater to the wealthy and neglect the ordinary people. That is why churches stand empty in many places. Preachers should put themselves in the working man's circumstances and work to rescue and help them out.
G. D. Hall (1870-1927), G. D. Hall, Pastor-Journalist: Reports Mission Meetings, 1895-1911, George F. Hall tr. (Typed Script, 1991), p. 84.
The questions for a Christian to ask regarding work and money are those of motivation (Am I in it solely for the money?), origin (At whose expense is this money made?), and the amount (When is the amount of money too little or too much?). "Got to make a living" is a thoughtless phrase that squelches serious consideration of these questions. In response to questions about money in our jobs, several general observations can be made. First, there is nothing unchristian about making a lot of money from a job. Second, there is something unchristian about making money if it is done in immoral or unethical ways. Third, there is also something unchristian about the primary pursuit of money to the exclusion of the rest of one's vocation. Jesus taught that trust in God and not concern over money should be the motivating force in our lives (Matthew 6:19-34).
Bryce E. Nelson (1945- ) and Dwight A. Nelson (1948- ), “And What Do You Do?”: Biblical Perspectives on Vocation and Work (1984), p. 12.
Why do we need meaningful labor? Why, because it is in our labor that we chiefly glorify God; it is the offering of our available strength to the One who created us. If a human being has spent his or her entire week goofing off, has made nothing lovely to contemplate, how shall he or she come into the courts of the Lord on the Sabbath with a tongue fit to praise the Creator of the universe?
Let us be careful. God does not love us because we have been faithful at our labor, much less because we praise him with empty words. The best work of a transcendent genius is a poor thing compared to the handiwork of God. We do not work to earn God's approval. We work because a loving Father has gotten through to us with his love, and in the joy of that recognition, we do what we can in our limited ways, confident that as once we brought our childish scrawls to wise and loving parents we may bring the flawed offerings of our mature strength to him as a sign of our love and praise. That is what Chesterton meant when he said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” We cannot be perfect. Therefore we can work. joyfully.
In the world as God intended it, every human being would have good work to do--good work meaning something with usefulness attached to it, and deep pleasure in the doing of it, a labor appropriate to every strength. In that world, the measure of a man or a woman would be the quality of their work. A joyfully effective street-sweeper would be honored before a slovenly manager, an honest carpenter before a crooked king.
Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “He Satisfies of Strength with Labor” (1985)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), pp. 130,131.
On the train [to Omaha, July 15, 1902], among others I conversed with Nebraska’s most famous man, W[illiam].J[ennings] Bryan from Lincoln. I screwed up courage and introduced myself to him “and he was very glad to see me.” He was returning from Dakota where he had delivered lectures on the victorious nations. He thinks, speaks, and writes so vigorously that his hair falls all over his face. Usually he appears strong and healthy. He is an articulate and educated man, talkative and animated. His eyes alternate sharpness and kindliness.
Among other matters he said: America's peril is its opulence and easy riches. Generally, show me persons who have come into wealth quickly and show me one of them with a good character or one who unselfishly serves his neighbor. Luck produces money and possessions without purifying character and motives of service. The great trusts take the bread of the working people and reduce their daily wages. In this way anarchy is fostered among us. The majority of America's preachers cater to the wealthy and neglect the ordinary people. That is why churches stand empty in many places. Preachers should put themselves in the working man's circumstances and work to rescue and help them out.
G. D. Hall (1870-1927), G. D. Hall, Pastor-Journalist: Reports Mission Meetings, 1895-1911, George F. Hall tr. (Typed Script, 1991), p. 84.
Whole Life Commitment
While whole-life stewardship encompasses more than what we do with our money, we cannot overlook the emphasis Jesus placed on money. The two most important theological documents we possess, other than our Bibles, are our checkbooks and our calendars. Nearly half of Jesus' parables (sixteen out of thirty-eight) deal with how we handle our money and possessions. One out of ten verses in the gospels (288 in all) focuses on how we gain, save, give, and use the financial resources that God entrusts to us. The Bible contains 500 verses dealing with prayer and nearly the same number dealing with faith, but over 2,000 verses concerning money and possessions. Obviously, money is important. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.... No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:19-21,24). Jesus spoke directly and forcefully on this issue. He saw clearly that how people dealt with money would have an impact on their freedom and joy.
A Family Matter: An Exploration in Believing and Belonging (Inquirer’s Class Manual of the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1994), p. 25.
It is not sound Christian teaching to divide life into secular and religious parts. The whole concept of Christian stewardship is based on a proper understanding of the close relationship between secular action and religious faith. The steward of New Testament times illustrates a person in whom the secular and religious attitudes are united. He had the full responsibility of acting according to his own judgment, and he took things into his own hands. In this regard the steward illustrates the secular man. However, the things over which the steward exercised control were not his own. They belonged to his lord, to whom he was responsible for the proper handling of his charge. Therefore he also represents the religious man. His life could not be divided so that in certain areas he acted on his own and in other areas on behalf of his lord. He acted on his own in everything, and he acted on behalf of his lord in everything (Luke 12:42).
Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), Salvation and Secularity (1968), p. 24.
As long as Christ is exiled from life's central precincts in everyday living the cares of food, clothes, and shelter seem so important and decisive, whereas actually they are superficial. They seek to convince man he is only an animal--refined of course--but still only a physical being. If only be could be well-fed, well-dressed and well-housed he would have no further needs. All he needs is social security and with that he has arrived at his high station. From then on he is a sleek, oily specimen of the full life without a care in the world. The only thing wrong with that kind of existence is that it is a cruel caricature of man. In it the center of his being is hollow, and he is “a man of straw.” He must have a real center; a substantial core that gives strength; a Lord that unifies all vagrant impulses.
Clarence A. Nelson (1900-1971), “Did He Get In?”
From The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954), p. 67.
When the owner of a large apartment building in Stockholm asked him [Paul Peter Waldenström, 1838-1917], “When is God going to get control of the hearts of Christian hymn publishers so that they give their proceeds to the Christian church?”, Waldenström answered: “At the same time that he gets control of the hearts of apartment owners so that they turn the proceeds of their apartment houses over to the Lord.”
A Family Matter: An Exploration in Believing and Belonging (Inquirer’s Class Manual of the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1994), p. 25.
It is not sound Christian teaching to divide life into secular and religious parts. The whole concept of Christian stewardship is based on a proper understanding of the close relationship between secular action and religious faith. The steward of New Testament times illustrates a person in whom the secular and religious attitudes are united. He had the full responsibility of acting according to his own judgment, and he took things into his own hands. In this regard the steward illustrates the secular man. However, the things over which the steward exercised control were not his own. They belonged to his lord, to whom he was responsible for the proper handling of his charge. Therefore he also represents the religious man. His life could not be divided so that in certain areas he acted on his own and in other areas on behalf of his lord. He acted on his own in everything, and he acted on behalf of his lord in everything (Luke 12:42).
Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), Salvation and Secularity (1968), p. 24.
As long as Christ is exiled from life's central precincts in everyday living the cares of food, clothes, and shelter seem so important and decisive, whereas actually they are superficial. They seek to convince man he is only an animal--refined of course--but still only a physical being. If only be could be well-fed, well-dressed and well-housed he would have no further needs. All he needs is social security and with that he has arrived at his high station. From then on he is a sleek, oily specimen of the full life without a care in the world. The only thing wrong with that kind of existence is that it is a cruel caricature of man. In it the center of his being is hollow, and he is “a man of straw.” He must have a real center; a substantial core that gives strength; a Lord that unifies all vagrant impulses.
Clarence A. Nelson (1900-1971), “Did He Get In?”
From The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954), p. 67.
When the owner of a large apartment building in Stockholm asked him [Paul Peter Waldenström, 1838-1917], “When is God going to get control of the hearts of Christian hymn publishers so that they give their proceeds to the Christian church?”, Waldenström answered: “At the same time that he gets control of the hearts of apartment owners so that they turn the proceeds of their apartment houses over to the Lord.”
Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), The Wit and Wisdom of Our Fathers (1967), p. 28.
“...Present your bodies” (Romans 12:1). This is consecration.
Most of us have attended consecration services. The invitation is given. We have a prayer mssion with those who respond. They ask for forgiveness and cleansing, and consecrate themselves to God. Here an earnest youth confesses worldliness and lays a pack of cigarettes “on the altar.” Another puts two theater tickets “on the altar.” A young woman confesses her evil disposition and lays her bad temper “on the altar.” Then we all stand up and give our testimonies, and everything is going to be different from now on.
A young man comes home from such a service firmly determined to live for God. All goes well for a day or two, and then he suddenly discovers how monotonous this kind of “consecrated” living can become. He reaches for a cigarette.
“No, I can't do that. I put my cigarettes on the altar.”
How about going out with the gang?
“No, they are going to a show, and I put the theater on the altar.”
What kind of life is this, where a man cannot even become angry? He contents himself with reading the funny paper (which he didn't put on the altar) for an evening or two, but soon the monotony becomes too great and he is back to the old life again.
What is wrong?
Come with me back to the “altar” and I will show you what is wrong. There “on the altar” lies the sacrifice: a pack of cigarettes, two theater tickets, and a bad temper! What a perfectly magnificent gift to offer to God “on the altar”! What, may I ask, do you expect God to do with a pack of cigarettes, two theater tickets, and a bad temper?
What is wrong? This was no consecration. These things certainly do not belong in the Christian life, but giving them up does not constitute consecration!
This is consecration, “That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.”
“Lord Jesus, I give thee my hands. They are not the most beautiful hands in the world. They may not carve magnificent sculptures nor paint beautiful pictures. They are just ordinary hands, and they have the ordinary skills apparent only in the dishpan or on the tractor, or with the hammer, or the typewriter, or the broom. I give my hands to thee for they are part of my body. Teach me to do the tasks that fall to my lot to do, not just to get by, but so that men may see that a Christian has done them, and glorify God. These hands are no more mine, but thine.
“Take my feet, Lord Jesus, and direct them where to go and where not to go. Take my lips. I may not be a silver tongued orator nor a golden voiced singer, but I want thee to have control of my lips, so that it will be natural, without my having to make any effort, to glorify thee even when I talk about the ordinary things of life. Keep them from boastfulness, blasphemy, and scandal. Keep them from empty religious phraseology, and teach them to speak simply, kindly, and honestly that men may thereby be encouraged to come to my Savior.
“Take my heart, Lord Jesus, and teach me to love thee devoutly and sincerely, and to love my fellow men in a way that is practical, helpful, and Christlike.”
This is consecration, and it is anything but monotonous. It leads to exhilarating, satisfying activity and makes life seem worthwhile.
Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), “A Living Sacrifice”
From The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954), pp. 84,85,86.
Jesus talked a lot about money. Students of the gospels say he talked about it more than anything else. No doubt about that! And when he got on the subject he wasn’t raising funds. He talked priorities. He talked values. He talked loyalties. But he did not ignore the economic needs of people. How gentle he was with his disciples’ worries. In the Sermon on the Mount he addressed those anxieties and told them not to worry about food, housing, or clothes. And they lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Survival was a close concern to them. His answer was explicit: put the Kingdom of God first–material needs will follow (Matthew 6:24-34).
...Survival isn’t at stake here; priorities are.... I’m not saying we may not need more money, especially in inflationary times. But a Christian has first to come back to a fundamental question: where is my ultimate trust? Do I recognize God as the source of my life and my well-being? Do I recognize my brothers around the world as sharing in this common need? Some time ago my wife and I felt the need of reviewing our own economic situation, our spending habits, our stewardship, and the witness of the telltale check stub. We got the courage to invite an accountant friend of ours into our confidence. We were anxious to know what our true situation was. He didn’t come asking spiritual questions but he got down to basics: income, fixed expenses, living expenses, giving. Facts, facts, facts. With calculator in hand, he went at it...dispassionately. Whereas we had emotionalized the data, a clear head helped us see our situation lucidly and hopefully. More than ever now we want to seek first the Kingdom of God in the realm of our possessions. The wolves had growled and the angels ministered to us.
Arthur W. Anderson (1920- ), Wild Beasts and Angels (1979), 25,26,27,28.
I hope you will believe me when I say that it is not my intent to be hurtful to anyone--in this article, or, God help me, in anything else I do or say. But there are times when I feel matters so deeply as to want to share with my “family” of fellow believers--to share in the sense of raising issues and questions and thereby helping to shape my own convictions.
Moral lifestyle. The word is one whose time has come. I spend a goodly portion of my professional life (as a medical communicator) attempting to convince the general public that changes in our physical lifestyle can and will result in positive health benefits. End of that sermon.
But what about our moral lifestyle? I pick the word “moral” to heighten the choices I am concerned about. I am not caring, at this point, about alcoholic beverages and x-rated movies. I am, instead, caring about choices related to material possessions--cars and houses and all that goes in them and with them. And I am not speaking to those who make no pretense about any commitment to matters other than those of the world at hand. I am addressing those of us who claim to be a people “set apart” and I am specifically concerned about how we witness to that separation in terms of our material possessions...
Riches can, of course, provide marvelous opportunities for investment in the Kingdom of God. And I personally appreciate the talents of those whose riches flow into efforts to help others; the church desperately needs that kind of talent and commitment--and more of it all the time.
But what I am really concerned about, more than riches in general, are riches in particular--as I said at the beginning, riches like cars and houses and all that goes in them and with them. That's the arena that most of us deal with when we think of “riches”--and that's what most of our neighbors and friends and acquaintances notice....
How do we witness today--apart from words, which are cheaper than ever--to the freedom we have in Christ, to the hope we have that is not dependent on possessions or financial security? The early Christians were identified in dramatic ways by their lifestyles of denial. I would like to suggest that one of the most direct and noticeable avenues of witness in our society is to avoid symbols of material affluence--no matter how “wise” the investment--and to thereby witness to the fact that we march to the beat of a different drummer than the one leading most of the parades of our time.
G. Timothy Johnson (1936- ), “Witness by Lifestyle?” (Covenant Tract, 1988).
Every person has received some natural endowment from God which can be used in his service. The gift may be a humble one; yet, consecrated to God, it can become of inestimable worth. It may be simply the ability to be a good hearer, to give an infectious smile, to read well, to converse well, to be a friendly visitor. Our sin is that we do not recognize the peculiar ability we have, nor develop it and use it in the service of the Lord. The gifts are there, but it takes the life-giving touch of the Spirit to make them active and effective. Every pastor has seen young men and women in [the] church who formerly were unable to do a thing for God, but who, after being born of the Spirit and consecrated, have developed into great and useful workers in the church. There is not a Christian so humble that...has not some talent that God can use. Find your talent!
Leonard J. Larson (1894-1973), “Christian Youth and Stewardship of Talents”
From Covenant Graded Lessons, 1943, p. 35.
“...Present your bodies” (Romans 12:1). This is consecration.
Most of us have attended consecration services. The invitation is given. We have a prayer mssion with those who respond. They ask for forgiveness and cleansing, and consecrate themselves to God. Here an earnest youth confesses worldliness and lays a pack of cigarettes “on the altar.” Another puts two theater tickets “on the altar.” A young woman confesses her evil disposition and lays her bad temper “on the altar.” Then we all stand up and give our testimonies, and everything is going to be different from now on.
A young man comes home from such a service firmly determined to live for God. All goes well for a day or two, and then he suddenly discovers how monotonous this kind of “consecrated” living can become. He reaches for a cigarette.
“No, I can't do that. I put my cigarettes on the altar.”
How about going out with the gang?
“No, they are going to a show, and I put the theater on the altar.”
What kind of life is this, where a man cannot even become angry? He contents himself with reading the funny paper (which he didn't put on the altar) for an evening or two, but soon the monotony becomes too great and he is back to the old life again.
What is wrong?
Come with me back to the “altar” and I will show you what is wrong. There “on the altar” lies the sacrifice: a pack of cigarettes, two theater tickets, and a bad temper! What a perfectly magnificent gift to offer to God “on the altar”! What, may I ask, do you expect God to do with a pack of cigarettes, two theater tickets, and a bad temper?
What is wrong? This was no consecration. These things certainly do not belong in the Christian life, but giving them up does not constitute consecration!
This is consecration, “That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.”
“Lord Jesus, I give thee my hands. They are not the most beautiful hands in the world. They may not carve magnificent sculptures nor paint beautiful pictures. They are just ordinary hands, and they have the ordinary skills apparent only in the dishpan or on the tractor, or with the hammer, or the typewriter, or the broom. I give my hands to thee for they are part of my body. Teach me to do the tasks that fall to my lot to do, not just to get by, but so that men may see that a Christian has done them, and glorify God. These hands are no more mine, but thine.
“Take my feet, Lord Jesus, and direct them where to go and where not to go. Take my lips. I may not be a silver tongued orator nor a golden voiced singer, but I want thee to have control of my lips, so that it will be natural, without my having to make any effort, to glorify thee even when I talk about the ordinary things of life. Keep them from boastfulness, blasphemy, and scandal. Keep them from empty religious phraseology, and teach them to speak simply, kindly, and honestly that men may thereby be encouraged to come to my Savior.
“Take my heart, Lord Jesus, and teach me to love thee devoutly and sincerely, and to love my fellow men in a way that is practical, helpful, and Christlike.”
This is consecration, and it is anything but monotonous. It leads to exhilarating, satisfying activity and makes life seem worthwhile.
Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), “A Living Sacrifice”
From The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954), pp. 84,85,86.
Jesus talked a lot about money. Students of the gospels say he talked about it more than anything else. No doubt about that! And when he got on the subject he wasn’t raising funds. He talked priorities. He talked values. He talked loyalties. But he did not ignore the economic needs of people. How gentle he was with his disciples’ worries. In the Sermon on the Mount he addressed those anxieties and told them not to worry about food, housing, or clothes. And they lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Survival was a close concern to them. His answer was explicit: put the Kingdom of God first–material needs will follow (Matthew 6:24-34).
...Survival isn’t at stake here; priorities are.... I’m not saying we may not need more money, especially in inflationary times. But a Christian has first to come back to a fundamental question: where is my ultimate trust? Do I recognize God as the source of my life and my well-being? Do I recognize my brothers around the world as sharing in this common need? Some time ago my wife and I felt the need of reviewing our own economic situation, our spending habits, our stewardship, and the witness of the telltale check stub. We got the courage to invite an accountant friend of ours into our confidence. We were anxious to know what our true situation was. He didn’t come asking spiritual questions but he got down to basics: income, fixed expenses, living expenses, giving. Facts, facts, facts. With calculator in hand, he went at it...dispassionately. Whereas we had emotionalized the data, a clear head helped us see our situation lucidly and hopefully. More than ever now we want to seek first the Kingdom of God in the realm of our possessions. The wolves had growled and the angels ministered to us.
Arthur W. Anderson (1920- ), Wild Beasts and Angels (1979), 25,26,27,28.
I hope you will believe me when I say that it is not my intent to be hurtful to anyone--in this article, or, God help me, in anything else I do or say. But there are times when I feel matters so deeply as to want to share with my “family” of fellow believers--to share in the sense of raising issues and questions and thereby helping to shape my own convictions.
Moral lifestyle. The word is one whose time has come. I spend a goodly portion of my professional life (as a medical communicator) attempting to convince the general public that changes in our physical lifestyle can and will result in positive health benefits. End of that sermon.
But what about our moral lifestyle? I pick the word “moral” to heighten the choices I am concerned about. I am not caring, at this point, about alcoholic beverages and x-rated movies. I am, instead, caring about choices related to material possessions--cars and houses and all that goes in them and with them. And I am not speaking to those who make no pretense about any commitment to matters other than those of the world at hand. I am addressing those of us who claim to be a people “set apart” and I am specifically concerned about how we witness to that separation in terms of our material possessions...
Riches can, of course, provide marvelous opportunities for investment in the Kingdom of God. And I personally appreciate the talents of those whose riches flow into efforts to help others; the church desperately needs that kind of talent and commitment--and more of it all the time.
But what I am really concerned about, more than riches in general, are riches in particular--as I said at the beginning, riches like cars and houses and all that goes in them and with them. That's the arena that most of us deal with when we think of “riches”--and that's what most of our neighbors and friends and acquaintances notice....
How do we witness today--apart from words, which are cheaper than ever--to the freedom we have in Christ, to the hope we have that is not dependent on possessions or financial security? The early Christians were identified in dramatic ways by their lifestyles of denial. I would like to suggest that one of the most direct and noticeable avenues of witness in our society is to avoid symbols of material affluence--no matter how “wise” the investment--and to thereby witness to the fact that we march to the beat of a different drummer than the one leading most of the parades of our time.
G. Timothy Johnson (1936- ), “Witness by Lifestyle?” (Covenant Tract, 1988).
Every person has received some natural endowment from God which can be used in his service. The gift may be a humble one; yet, consecrated to God, it can become of inestimable worth. It may be simply the ability to be a good hearer, to give an infectious smile, to read well, to converse well, to be a friendly visitor. Our sin is that we do not recognize the peculiar ability we have, nor develop it and use it in the service of the Lord. The gifts are there, but it takes the life-giving touch of the Spirit to make them active and effective. Every pastor has seen young men and women in [the] church who formerly were unable to do a thing for God, but who, after being born of the Spirit and consecrated, have developed into great and useful workers in the church. There is not a Christian so humble that...has not some talent that God can use. Find your talent!
Leonard J. Larson (1894-1973), “Christian Youth and Stewardship of Talents”
From Covenant Graded Lessons, 1943, p. 35.
