In their thought-provoking exploration of the nature of work lived out in a fallen world within God’s good boundaries of finitude, authors David Buschart and Ryan Tafilowski critique the faith and work movement, pointing out that a theology of work for the real world needs to be grounded, not in the perfection of the Garden of Eden nor in that of the new heaven and earth, but rather situated between the two, “a theology rooted firmly from the middle, for the middle.”
In introductory notes, the authors explain the focus of their book: “Specifically, this book will address itself to one key question: Is there a theology of work—a way of understanding the nature and purpose of human labor in light of the Christian faith—capable of speaking to work the way we experience it: a mixture of pleasure and pain, fulfillment and futility, beauty and boredom, satisfaction and stress, finitude and fallenness? Is there a theology that might resonate for workers with high degrees of autonomy and prestige and those who do not naturally find much meaning in their work or whose work is degrading? In short, is there a theology of work for the real world?”
Biblically rooted and backed up by meticulous research, Worth Doing is an excellent resource for Christian leaders and laypeople who want to understand more fully what it means to embrace God’s good design for work, yet who still face the impact of sin on labor, resulting in enmity, absurdity, and tragedy. This reader found particularly helpful the chapter titled “The Goodness of Finite and Fallen Work.”
The authors conclude their study by asserting, “Constrained though it is by finitude and haunted as it is by the curse, work is nonetheless a good gift from the good God and therefore worth doing. It is true, as Jesus says, that the ‘night is coming when no one can work’ (John 9:4), but each of us can—and should—still make hay while the sun shines.”
The book doesn’t include discussion questions, but it could still serve as a resource for small group study.
(IVP Academic)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.