“God,
who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation”
2 Corinthians 5:18 (ESV)
“Your
people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with
Dwellings.”
Isaiah 58:12 (NIV2011)
Isaiah 58:12 (NIV2011)
On
Sunday, Fran Lutz gave his testimony about his struggle to be a man of God and
integrity in the workplace.
Trust me when I say you need to read this. Jeff
Career
vs Calling—Why Monday Matters
Hello.
My name is Fran Lutz and I AM a work-a-holic. I am addicted to work, this world,
and its ways. As an addict, I must profess my addiction and vigilantly follow my
recovery plan.
So this is my story.
July
2002
Step
1: I admitted I was powerless over work-a-holism and my addiction—that my life
had become unmanageable.
Step 2: I came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me.
Step 3: I made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understood Him at the time.
Step 4: I made a search and fearless moral inventory of myself.
Step 2: I came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me.
Step 3: I made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understood Him at the time.
Step 4: I made a search and fearless moral inventory of myself.
.
. . . and so on through steps 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12
Author
Christopher Morley first penned the words “rat race” in 1939. In the 76
years since, the term rate race has evolved to describe the hopeless pursuit of
a good life always just out of reach—a treadmill upon which we seemingly
can’t stop walking or we will fall off. Many of us today, especially me,
are desperately trying to win the wrong race. For the world in which we
live has established its own ideas about how to accomplish the good life--ideas
far different than God’s! So how did I become an addict and get caught
up in this rat race in the first place? Quite simply, my story is the
story of Adam and Eve as told in Genesis. Here is my version of the story,
told in the first person:
Genesis,
Chapter 3, Verses: 4-7 – Fran’s New World Amplified Edition
“.
. . . and the world (the serpent) said to Fran:
“Surely,
you will not die! For God knows that when you taste and eat of this world,
your eyes will be opened, and you will BE like GOD—people will honor and
praise you. So, when Fran saw that the world, and its work, was good, good
for buying food and drink, vacations, and many things that he liked but did not
need . . . . and he saw that the world’s work was a delight to his eyes and
his ego . . . . and that his work made people around him think he was wise . . .
Well . . . .Fran gladly ate of the world and its work, and then he also
passed it to his wife, his children, his friends, and his family . . . . who also ate of the world and its lies.”
passed it to his wife, his children, his friends, and his family . . . . who also ate of the world and its lies.”
THEN
Fran’s eyes were opened and he knew that he was naked!
This
is how the rat race started, my addiction began and how, after years, instead of
me asking why Monday matters, I began believing that Friday matters. Wishing for
Friday (and the weekend). And as I feed on the world and its lies, my addiction
grows.
A
few weeks ago, Jeff asked me to give my testimony on work and Genesis 3—or as
I call it—“Career vs Calling & Why Monday Matters”. Ever since he
asked, I have been painfully reminded of my nakedness and my addiction to this
world and its work—most recently, with my son Daniel.
Now
Daniel is an amazing young man, a 17-year old rising high school senior with a
brilliant mind and a beautiful heart.
For many kids, like Daniel, this is a time focused on the future; a time
for choosing colleges and picking a future career path. But this is also
exactly where the world, aided by my addictions, nefariously seeps into our
thoughts. Prep tests, hired SAT tutors, extra AP courses, student resume
building, college essays about how you will change the world, college admission
pep talks: all pointing a path to the good life—the successful life.
But
what are we talking about here: career or God’s calling?
To
me, my intentions seemed pure: help give my son Daniel the greatest opportunity
to get into the best universities in America, to gain a first-class education,
culminating in a purposeful, high-potential career as a future physicist or
engineer. . . . all building blocks to a good life! Right?
But
what am I teaching my son?
Thanks
to my daughter, Emma, who is reading the Screwtape
Letters by CS Lewis, I was reminded of a powerful passage about a man, who
after a life filed with distractions, exclaims as he enters hell: “I now
see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought to do nor what I
liked to do! Doing NOTHING that mattered”. And NOTHING is very
strong; strong enough to steal away a man’s best years, not in sweet sins but
in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why
(i.e.: the rat race).
Currently,
I work as an executive for a national non-profit organization, whose mission is
to fight for social, political, and economic justice for low-income, low-wealth
people and communities across America. To most, this seems like a very
noble profession, perhaps even worthy of God’s calling. However, I
challenge you, it is not what we do (for work) that makes it Godly or noble but
how we do our work and why we do our work.
So
why does Monday matter? And why does it matter at my job?
Because
I see that no matter how well I carry out the work’s mission, something will
always be missing. People can have all the political freedom and economic
mobility in the world—free from prejudice, bigotry, racism, and
oppression—all good things themselves. People can have the very best
this world has to offer. But that’s just it.. . . . .the very best this world
has to offer is not and is never enough! Because of what we know and
believe as Christians, a life without God is . . . . well . . . .life without
life!
As
Jeff shared from Genesis, we live in a broken world. It will always be broken.
Broken this Monday and 100,000 Mondays from now until we reconcile ourselves and
others with God.
So
as I look at work through God’s eyes, work becomes a calling rather than a
career.
So
what does God call me to do?
God
tells me no clearer and more excitingly than in 2nd Corinthians
(5:20). I read it in the first person to make it personal to me:
“For
God has given me the task of reconciling people to Him.
He is entrusting to me this wonderful message of reconciliation.
I am, INDEED, Christ’s ambassador.
God is making his appeal through me.”
He is entrusting to me this wonderful message of reconciliation.
I am, INDEED, Christ’s ambassador.
God is making his appeal through me.”
Christ’s
ambassador: you have to admit now that’s a quite job description!
As
a recovering addict, but still an addict, I personally need such word pictures
and reminders to help me visualize and hold onto the truth . . . . to keep me
moving forward and not sliding back. The prophet Isaiah gives me one such vivid
and truly beautiful word picture of what I want to become and how I want to
work. Again, I read it in the first person to make it real for me.
From Chapter 58:
“.
. . . and if I spend myself in behalf of the hungry,
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.
Then my light will rise in the darkness.
And my night will become like the noonday sun.
I will be like a well-watered garden.
Like a spring whose water never fails.
I will be called a Repairer of Broken Walls.
A Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.
Then my light will rise in the darkness.
And my night will become like the noonday sun.
I will be like a well-watered garden.
Like a spring whose water never fails.
I will be called a Repairer of Broken Walls.
A Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
I
WANT to become this Repairer of Broken Walls, this Restorer of Streets.
So
knowing this: every day, I ask myself one simple question before I step through
my office door:
“Fran,
this day, will the world come nearer to the reconciling plan of God because of
what I believe AND what I say and do today?”
Thank
you for letting me share with you today and, as my community of believers, I
sincerely thank you for working in my life and keeping me accountable on my own
road to recovery and restoration with God.
You
truly have been and are a Repairer of Broken Walls in my life. God Bless.
For
more:
follow on Twitter @jefflampl
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