When I was in college, I was in what I would call the early stages of a spiritual awakening. Since I felt an interest in learning more about God – and at the time did not know any other people who were thinking that way – I even enrolled in a couple of religion courses. My curiosity was squelched for a time, however, when the classes I attended seemed as inspiring as watching paint dry.
Instead of pursuing some kind of religious vocation, my focus shifted to writing, which I found was the perfect fit for me. I earned two degrees in journalism and became a community newspaper editor. Over my 10 years of writing for and editing newspapers, I do not recall a single moment when I thought that I had been placed there by God. Even though I had become a follower of Jesus during that time.
That changed dramatically when I joined the staff of what is now known as Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC). As editor of the CBMC magazine and other publications, I met many men and women who were not only devoted in their faith to Christ but also shared a vision for serving and representing Him in the marketplace.
Soon, I realized the disconnect I had sensed between my faith and my work was not unusual. When I talked with people in the churches I attended about being “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), they often responded with blank stares. To serve the Lord, in their understanding, was to enter some form of full-time religious work, like being a pastor, priest, or missionary. In reality, this was a misunderstanding on their part.
Martin Luther, who played a central role in the Protestant Reformation in the early 1500s, had a correct biblical grasp of how faith and work can and should intersect. He wrote, “Every occupation has its own honor before God. Ordinary work is a divine vocation or calling. In our daily work no matter how important or mundane we serve God by serving the neighbor and we also participate in God’s on-going providence for the human race.” Work and faith should be integrated, not segregated.
Luther helped to dispel the notion that there are two different classes of Christians – those in “full-time, professional Christian service” (such as ministers and missionaries) and “laypeople,” those in the pews who pray for and support the work of the “professionals.” Think of it this way: There is no such thing as a “part-time Christian.” We are either following Jesus 24/7 or not at all. And as His followers, we are called to serve Him and others in His name. By definition, all believers are in full-time Christian service.
All involved in Jesus’ Great Commission. Following His resurrection and before ascending to heaven, Jesus had final instructions for His followers, none of whom had attended seminary or any religious school. He told them, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). We are not only to follow Jesus but also teach and equip others to follow Him as well.
Everything we do serves the Lord. We do not have to be in a church or religious setting to be engaged in the work God is doing in this world. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:17, 23).
© 2026. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; and The Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard, and numerous other books and magazine articles. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
- When you started your day today, after you got out of bed and started getting ready for work, were you thinking about going to your job because God has called you to serve Him there? Explain your answer.
- Have you ever heard the term, “full-time Christian service”? If so, what has it meant to you? Have the insights presented in this Monday Manna changed your thinking in any way about how you are to approach the work that you do?
- What are some practical ways in which you can being regarding your work as “a divine vocation or calling,” as Martin Luther described it?
- When so much emphasis in the marketplace is placed on sales, growing business, building a brand and making a profit, how can we maintain a proper biblical perspective on work?
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Psalm 37:2-7; Proverbs 16:3, Ecclesiastes 9:10; Matthew 25:21; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 10:31
Challenge for This Week
This week might be a good time for you to recommit your work, responsibilities and the people you work with to the Lord, asking and inviting Him to work through you as His ambassador. Or perhaps you have never seriously regarded your work as a divinely ordained vocation or calling. At least not until now. Pray about how God wants you to proceed with this new understanding.
Ask some close friends, trusted advisors, a mentor or a CBMC group you are involved in to pray with one another and provide mutual support in your desire to be “God’s fellow worker” as 1 Corinthians 3:9 describes it.
