Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Oikonomia

Home
Business, Finance and Religion
Now Available: Lester DeKoster’s ‘Work,’ Re-Issued with New Afterword

Now Available: Lester DeKoster’s ‘Work,’ Re-Issued with New Afterword

Last updated on: October 6, 2015 at 11:59 pm by Acton Institute

Now Available: Lester DeKoster’s ‘Work,’ Re-Issued with New Afterword 2015-10-06T23:59:16-04:00 Acton Institute

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Joseph Sunde

Originally written in 1982, Lester DeKoster’s small book,Work: The Meaning of Your Life, has had a tremendous impact on the hearts and minds of many, reorienting our attitudes and amplifying our visions about all that, at first, might seem mundane. More recently, the book’s core thesis was put on display in Acton’s film series, For the Life of the World, particularly in the episode on creative service.

Christian’s Library Press has now re-issued the book, complete with new cover art and a hearty new afterword by Greg Forster.

In the afterword, Forster revisits the book in light of the broader faith and work movement, noting DeKoster’s keen awareness of the struggles and hardships we often experience at work, and the hope of Christ in the midst of such struggles.

Although the book applies to every occupation and vocation — from the Wall Street executive to the independent artist to the stay-at-home mother — one of DeKoster’s primary audiences in his own life was blue-collar workers, who he routinely taught in night classes at Calvin College. “His message of hope to them is an outstanding model for our movement today,” Forster writes.

Indeed, DeKoster realized that without a proper understanding of God’s ultimate purposes, we will find ourselves trapped in a “wilderness of work,” lost and without meaning. But when we understand God’s grand design for all things, everything changes.

We must, as DeKoster argues, bring hope to our work, as Forster explains:

Those who don’t find transcendent meaning in their work live as though their existence is mostly meaningless. Their character and life choices are shaped accordingly. Even if they are Christians, if they don’t connect their faith to their work, they will be what Doug Spada and Dave Scott call “Monday Morning Atheists,” living the bulk of their lives as though they are without God and without hope in the world. Their faith, while real, remains confined within the bounds of what Mark Greene calls “leisure-time Christianity.”

DeKoster writes that for people who don’t find meaning in work, whether Christian or not, human life is essentially “a wilderness of work.” Each day is a desert of meaningless toil that we have to trudge through, day after day. Our burning thirst for significance is quenched only occasionally—and briefly—by the “oases of meaning furnished by our families, the church, politics, community affairs, plus hobbies and spectator sports thrown in to give zest to leisure” (xiii).

The remedy to this bleak existence, DeKoster argues, comes when “a right view of work becomes the key to a satisfying life” (xv). If we live out a God-centered approach to work, we will be grounding the bulk of our lives squarely in God. Our spiritual longings will be satisfied.

You can purchase the book here and add it to your Goodreads bookshelf here.

For a sample from the book, see this extended excerpt at the Oikonomia blog.

Previous Post

September 29, 2015

Show Me the Way to Poverty

Next Post

October 6, 2015 The Magic of the Small Town Barbershop

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Charity Church Common Grace Culture Curriculum Economics Education Family Justice Order Theology Uncategorized Vocation Wisdom Wonder Work

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was swallowed by a great fish after being thrown overboard?

Select your answer to see how you score.

David Saul Noah Jonah