WISDOM FOR PURPOSEFUL PROFESSIONS

“He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with WISDOM, with understanding, with knowledge and with ALL KINDS of SKILLS” – Exodus 35:10

GOD is the Giver of WISDOM for PURPOSEFUL PROFESSIONS: “Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with ALL KINDS of SKILLS” (Exo.35: 30-31). Earlier, Moses said: “All who are SKILLED among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded” (Exo.35:10, NIV). The Amplified says, “Let every SKILLED and TALENTED man among you come, and make everything that the Lord has commanded.” Some other Bible versions aptly refer to the skilled person as “wise hearted.” Yesterday we defined a SKILL as an ability, technical know-how, or expertise in a field. Skills and talents come from God; but Skills particularly, must be honed!

God is the Source and Supplier of all excellent gifts and creative talents: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (Jam.1:17, NIV). And, He is keenly interested in His children displaying and demonstrating His Wisdom through skilful vocations and creative, productive, prolific professions. The Holy Spirit supplies natural talents, the learning of skills, and many kinds of spiritual gifts for the benefit of all. At the time of Moses, the Lord filled Bezalel with the Spirit, wisdom, knowledge, and many skills to design and work with metal, stone, and wood in all kinds of artistic crafts and technologies. God also filled Bezalel and others with the ability to teach so that many more could become skilled workers and designers. All of these gifts can be used to give glory to God.

There is no legitimate vocation or profession that does not source its knowledge and wisdom from the Almighty God: “He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers” (v.35). Apart from spiritual gifts of teaching, preaching, prophesying, healing and miracles, God also endows certain individuals with gifts of learning and research for the benefits of medical science such as discovery of cures for diseases, as well as innovations in technology that have helped billions of people around the world. For all of these we must give glory to God, as we use our gifts to honour Him and bless humanity.

Secular profession need not contradict Christian calling if both are viewed as ministries. Whether one is an accountant, carpenter, engineer, entrepreneur, factory worker, flight attendant, homemaker, lawyer, researcher, teacher, or waitress, we should apply ourselves to our vocation or profession with as much devotion as any evangelist or pastor does to his work, conscious that ours is also a high calling to glorify God in what we do. What we call ‘secular’ work ought to be seen as a sacred calling, an expression of love for God, not merely a means of livelihood. To separate the sacred from the secular is sacrilegious:  “WHATEVER YOU DO, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col.3: 23-24).

We must face our professional lives with a purposeful joy, honoured to serve the King of the Universe and to feel His pleasure! We must be indispensable employees and respected bosses, do our very best using our God-given abilities, with as much integrity as is required for the a minister of God; desiring His commendation more than human applause. Perhaps He is more concerned with how we earn our living than how much we earn for a living. As salt of the earth, Christians should be the most conscientious, dependable, fair, honest, hardworking, considerate people in the marketplace, glorifying our Father in heaven (Mt.5: 14-16). Our professions can become living testimonies to the Reality of God’s Word.