Work and My Identity

Editor’s note: Yesterday, we featured a devotion from the brand-new Life in Christ Bible. You can read it here. Then, enjoy this second excerpt on our identity and work.

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Created in His Image to Work 

When we meet someone new and are asked to tell about ourselves, usually one of the first things we share is what we do for work. Our vocation helps define who we are and how we think about ourselves. And

because our identity is tied closely with our work, our sense of self-worth is often linked to our success or failure at our jobs.

This is not entirely surprising because we were made to work. Adam and Eve were given work before sin entered the world (see Genesis 1:28), and work will continue into the new creation after Jesus returns (see Isaiah 65:21–22). We are made in God’s image, and He is a God at work (see John 5:17). We are sub-creators, following His example by cultivating and creating out of what He has made. It is an important part of who we are.

However, we place ourselves in a vulnerable position when we make our work the most important part of our identity. When our work becomes all-important, then we work to earn our place in the world or to make ourselves feel valuable. This, in turn, often leads to workaholism and feelings of despair or worthlessness if we become unemployed. Instead, we should first center our identity on the fact that we are children of God in Christ and see our work as an overflow of that relationship and a way to serve God and others with the work of our hands. 

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The Common Grace of Work 

Our vocation makes up a large part of our sense of self, or our identity. While our work should not be the defining part of how we see ourselves, it is good to find meaning and joy in our work when it is done out of a love for God and others.

• God is a worker.

He created the world in six days (see Genesis 1) and continues to work today (see Psalm 104:24–30). Jesus was a carpenter (see Mark 6:3), and He saw His ministry of teaching and healing as work (see John 5:17).

We are made in the image of God and, therefore, reflect His nature when we work.

Adam and Eve worked in the garden before the first sin was committed (see Genesis 1:28; 2:15, 20), and those redeemed by Christ will work after His return (see Isaiah 65:21–22). This means that working is part of what it means to be human. It always has been, and it always will be. Work is part of God’s design of humanity, not a result of the fall.

God empowers all who work (see Exodus 31:1–5) and has created the skills and abilities we use in our jobs so that we can serve one another in our vocations. Jesus instructed us to ask God for our daily bread (see Matthew 6:11), and God answers that prayer through the farmer, the baker, the trucker, and the grocer, and by giving us employment to earn money to purchase that bread.

No one should build their identity completely around their work, but work is good, and Christians are called to work hard at the labor God has given them, as if working for God Himself (see Colossians 3:23–24).

Excerpted with permission from the Life in Christ Bible, copyright Thomas Nelson.

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Your Turn

Did you get that work isn’t a result of the Fall of man? Work is good! We were created to work… created to create because we were created in God’s image. We just have to remember isn’t who we are; it’s what we do! ~ Devotionals Daily