Last September, Geoffrey Owens, the actor best known for his role as Elvin Tibideaux in the Cosby Show, was photographed bagging groceries at a Trader Joes in New Jersey. Suddenly, he was famous again. And not in a good way.
The photo tumbled across the internet and generated hundreds of unkind comments and insults toward Owens.
Rapidly actors locked arms to defend Owens, to denounce “job shaming,” and to reflect on the value of work. Briefly, the glitz and glamour was peeled away as actors peppered the internet with tweets and posts, reminiscing about work outside of film and television, and which seemed to imply that, somehow, despite their success as actors, they wanted the world to know that they were, in fact, real people who at one time or another had regular a job.
Former NFL standout-turned-actor, Terry Crews, proclaimed that he swept floors after the NFL and advised that “Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of.” Actor Keisuke Hoashi tweeted that he “used to have a GREAT day job as a tech writer, multimedia designer and developer.” And Patricia Heaton added, “When I worked on Thirtysomething I was also summarizing depositions to pay my rent.”
Since the dust settled, Owens has been back in the news, having accepted offers and auditions, and of course participating in the ongoing conversation about the value of work.
And Owens continues to echo what he had said initially On Good Morning America in September. In that interview, Owens expressed his appreciation for the support and tried to settle the discussion with his own take on it all. But, in fact, he simply pointed out that work itself is something that needs definition and context. “There is no job that is better than another job,” Owens said. “It might pay better, it might have better benefits, it might look better on a résumé and on paper. But, actually, it’s not better. Every job is worthwhile and valuable.”
Maybe. Maybe not.
Owens, like most people, confuses the outcome of work with the inherent value of it. That is, any job that provides income can be construed as “worthwhile and valuable” if all we care about is the outcome—a paycheck.
But what if there is more to work than just earning a buck? What if working is valuable not only and solely because it provides income, but also because work is designed for a purpose, and it is that purpose that makes work “worthwhile” or “valuable,” not the paycheck.
Outside of a biblical worldview it’s easy to lose sight of what work is all about. How do we define “good work?” What makes work “good,” valuable, or beneficial, and how does the Bible help Christians know what jobs to decline or accept?
As with everything else basic to human nature, we can get our clues on jobs from creation. God defines work. In the creation story we learn three key truths about work and what qualifies work as “good” and valuable.
First, God gives work its purpose. He included work in creation for the purpose of management and oversight. “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it” (Gen. 2:15). Human beings are designed to work the creation for its benefit, to be stewards of His creation, so “good” work is that which contributes positively to that creation and benefits its management. It does not diminish humanity or devalue the created order. As such, we approach our work as a reflection of our relationship with God (Col. 3:23-24).
Then, second, God defines “good work” by His own work. When God works, He creates for a specific outcome—a place for humanity to flourish and serve Him. God produces “good” work. So, with each closing day, “God saw that it was good.”
Therefore, third, (regardless of how you feel on Mondays) work is not a product of our tumble into sin. Work was always part of the created order. That’s why we find satisfaction in working. However, because of our sin, work can be laborious and tedious, and, at times, destructive, dissatisfying, and abusive. In short, because of sin, on this side of Eden not all work is “good work.”
If we measure the value of our work by God’s standard, we see right away that work is “good” and valuable as it contributes to His created order. In that sense, all “good” work is equally significant, benefiting our ongoing purpose to manage God’s creation.
Clearly, this stunts the notion that work is “good” and valuable just because you earn a paycheck and that the more money you earn the better the job you have. So, Geoffrey Owens checking groceries at Trader Joes—good work. Stormy Daniels producing porn—not good work. One contributes to the upkeep of creation but doesn’t earn a big payout. One makes bunches of money but is corrupting the created order.
So, be careful not to judge the value of your work by the paycheck. God doesn’t. Instead, God judges the value, the “goodness,” of your work by its contribution to the stewardship of His creation.
What if you don’t like your job? Then, seek the work God has for you in His plan. And, in the meantime, apply yourself to the work God has given you in His wisdom.
At the end of the day your satisfaction comes when you can hand over to God your day’s work and know that His voice still echoes, “And God saw that it was good.”