You and Your Schoolwork

Since school started for everyone this week, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about what the Bible has to say about our schoolwork at Youth Group this past Sunday. When asked what one’s favorite part of school is, I’ve heard many a middle schooler instantaneously respond, “Lunch!” Some young’uns love school and thrive in an academic environment, while others loathe the idea of schoolwork. Wherever you land in the spectrum of enjoying school, we need to have a Biblical worldview of the work we do.

If you were to take a gander at mythological stories of creation you’d see a very low view of work. The Babylonian god Marduke creates man to do work in the world so the gods don’t have to. In the Greek myth of Pandora’s box, Pandora is given a box by Zeus and is told not to open it. What does she do? Opens it, of course. Out came disease, death, decay….and work.

You may have bought into the American Dream, and so you say, “I like work because it allows me to do things I want to do. I’m hoping to retire early and enjoy life. Even if I can’t retire as early as I want, I’ll work so I can have a home and be able to go on vacation and have some fun.” Is that really a higher view of work than the Babylonians or Greeks had? Work just becomes a by-product, something you do to make money so you can then go do the stuff you really wanted to do in the first place. (idea stolen from Dorothy Sayers)

As a youth, the job you’ve been given is to be a student. You have to do it, and maybe you hate it. What’s the problem? Is work really bad?

Check out Genesis 1 and 2 sometime. Genesis 2:2 says, “And on the 7th day God finished His work that He had done, and rested on the 7th day from all the work He had done.” Or how ’bout Genesis 2:15? It says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Quick question, does work come before or after the Fall? Before. The Fall happens in Genesis 3. Work is in paradise!

In Genesis 1:27, it says that we’ve been made in God’s image (male and female). If we’ve been made in the image of our Creator, what should we do? Create! (and I’m not saying we all need to be artists…thank goodness for me)

“go back to the original Old Testament spot where the first couple, Adam and Eve, are given a job, and the first job was gardening. Gardening is a paradigm for all work. Now what does a gardener do? A gardener is not a park ranger, who just walks around and doesn’t touch anything. A gardener also does not pave over the garden. A gardener is someone who digs up the ground and rearranges the raw material of the soil to produce something that human beings actually need. What do they need? They need food or they need flowers for their physical or emotional needs. All work essentially is that. It is taking raw material and rearranging it to give human beings something they need.”

-Tim Keller, Hope for Your Work

In mirroring our Creator, our work should be creating order out of chaos. What’s an example of that? Well, if you create a business, you’re creating a product that wasn’t there before. You’ve rearranged materials to give people something they need. It’s order out of chaos. You’re imaging your Creator.

That’s fine and dandy, but what about a student going through the drudgery of 10th grade? Let’s take a look at some examples:

-You write a paper in your English class. What’ve you done? You’ve rearranged words and put them together to create thoughts and ideas. You’ve mirrored your Creator.

-In Art, you sculpt, paint, or design something. What’ve you done? You’ve taken different elements and created beauty and order. Order out of chaos. You’ve mirrored your Creator.

-In Science you learn about bodies and nature. From it we can heal and restore disordered bodies and make the orderly. You’ve mirrored your Creator.

-Maybe you’re a person who enjoys the friendships at school. Well, be a good friend then. Listen, counsel, give advice. What’ve you done? You’ve taken a disordered life and tried to bring order to it. You’ve mirrored your Creator.

-How about extracurricular parts of school? Take over as a leader on your sports team. You can create stability with your leadership. You’ve rearranged to create order. You’ve mirrored your Creator.

Why is it so satisfying to get a job done well? Because you’re imitating God in doing so. You have to work or you won’t feel human. Glorify God in your schoolwork, youth. As 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Let’s quickly wrap this long post up with one more thought. The Bible is realistic about your work. We live in a broken world and that means our work is broken. Maybe school has frustrated you, made you feel inadequate, or caused you to be very proud (some are very good at school and very driven to dominate it). What do you need to do? Rest.

Let’s look again at Genesis 2:2. It says God finished His work and then rested. Now, you might be thinking, “Ok, I’ll just take breaks. I like breaks.” Yes, you need physical rest, but there’s more in there. In Genesis 2 God says it’s finished because He’s finished the work of creation. Thousands of years later, God in the flesh cries out, “It is finished,” as He’s hanging from a cross. The first time God gets rest because creation is finished. The second time Jesus cries out, “It is finished,” so we can get rest because He’s finished the work of redemption.

Until you believe Jesus Christ did all the work necessary to gain you God’s unwavering love and approval, you’ll never find rest — and never be free to work. When you get that rest, you can see that work does matter because God’s created it. Also, you don’t have to work to exhaustion and forsake everything for an A+. The kid who struggles with grades, has trouble making friends at school, and is woefully unathletic but knows God through Christ has a better basis for identity and value than the star high school quarterback with all his adoring fans who doesn’t know God through Christ.

“If God is God (and He is), then small with Him is better than big with anybody else.”

-John Piper

God matters to your school. The Gospel frees you from the view that schoolwork is bad, and it also frees you from making schoolwork an idol. Your identity isn’t a letter grade. You can now find joy in imitating your Creator because you’ve rested. Rest so you can work.

Now go do your homework.