Reflections
WORK AND FAMILY: TWO GREAT CALLINGS, ONE GREAT CONFLICT
By Pete Hammond
Do you ever experience tension between your work and your family life? Most people do, yet ironically, work and family are two of God's primary callings for us. And often we find them side by side in Scripture (for example, Psalm 128:2-4).
Since the beginning of history, work and family have been the two realms in which people have tended to find both the greatest meaning and fulfillment and the deepest pain and frustration. The Bible reflects this paradox by opening with the painfully realistic account of Adam and Eve (Genesis 2-3). On the one hand, their work in the garden and their life with each other brought them great joy and significance. But after they sinned, work became "sweat" (3:19), and family life produced pain, sorrow, and estrangement (3:16, 4:8, 16).
The biblical account goes on to record more stress between work and family in the life of Abraham. Abraham used his wife Sarah as a bargaining chip as he negotiated for food with the Egyptians (12:10-12). Later, he and his nephew Lot achieved so much wealth that they had to part ways in order to maintain a peaceful relationship (13:1-18)!
Another prime example of frustration in work and family is Solomon. His success as a king was spectacular (1 Kings 10:23), but his family life was not, affected as it was by the many political marriages he made (11:1-3). In the end, he found both his work and family to be very unsatisfying (Eccl. 1:1-2:26), even though he believed that both were gifts from God to be treasured (3:12-13; 5:18-20).
Psalms 127 and 128 hold out hope for these areas as well. By centering our work in the Lord, we can find a measure of fulfillment and reward. Likewise, family life can be satisfying and secure when we build our homes on a godly foundation.
As you think about the connections between your family and work, how much do the members of your family know about your work? How much do you know about theirs? In what ways could your church help to bridge the gap between work and family life?
"Pete Hammond is a PCUSA elder, a veteran InterVarsity staff member and founder of its Marketplace division, who currently coordinates the Ministry In Daily life Group, and is also the creative developer, team leader and chief contributor to the new Word In Life(tm) Study Bible. He and his wife Shirley live in Madison, WI., and commute to Chicago regularly to see their grandchildren."
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