I found it amusing that a book about work was not very much work to read. Perhaps it is because the author’s purpose is just to get you thinking rightly about the subject, so that you can, well… just get back to work.

work excellenceWork Excellence by Charles M. Garriott sets out to answer what it means to have a biblical perspective of work. Do you understand what it means to glorify God in your work? What is the standard for the Christian in work? What does excellence look like in the life of a Christian? Garriott’s goal is to answer these questions and he does a fine job of that. It was a quick read, as well as a good read. Which is excellent, because I’ve a house to run. (Have I ever mentioned that?)

There are two of me. The Rare Me toils the day away and slides into bed late in the evening (not letting the lamp go out, of course) with a prayer of worship. My joints ache, but my heart is filled with gratitude, satisfaction, and thanksgiving for a day of hard labor. This actually happens every time we shovel mulch. Then, there is the other me—The Typical Me—that climbs the stairs, picking up miscellaneous, forgotten Legos on my way, collapsing into bed, cursing the late hour, vowing to get to bed earlier the next night, and asking my husband, “You mean I have to do this again tomorrow?”

So, when Garriott points out early in the book on page 13 that the “only thing secular about work is the way we view and treat it,” I knew I’d be in for a worthwhile read. After exegeting the biblical passage of Cain and Abel, Garriott concludes that “there is no excellence in work if it does not lead to worship.” All of life is worship, whether we are doing it with our work on six days or with our worship and rest on the seventh day. Our lives are an offering (Romans 12:1), so it necessarily follows that our work is for God’s glory, as well.

So, what then, are we do with the conflict and drudge that often accompanies a lot of our work? When God cursed the ground in Genesis, causing mankind’s labor and pain to increase significantly, He not only showed us His wrath against sin, He reminded us of His mercy. In this world, we will labor, and the weeds will compete against our efforts. This is because of sin. The weeds are a reminder of His judgment and wrath. Yet, in the same passage, God promises a Deliverer who will “crush the head” of the serpent. This promise gives all of us who toil a reason to work with excellence for God’s glory.

God’s blessing is necessary for my work to be done well and to His glory. (Chapter 10) Even God’s common grace—the way He blesses the work of those who don’t acknowledge Him—is an opportunity to worship Him for His graciousness. We create idols when we allow our work to give us meaning, happiness, and fulfillment. (Satisfaction is found in Christ—as John Piper often says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.) As a mother—who happens to be in a somewhat monotonous stage of motherhood—this is a truth worth remembering and living.

From the title, I surmised that the author might set out to solve the world’s problems of work (famine, welfare, laziness, and maybe a little chapter on outsourcing), but instead he stuck pretty close to home. That is to say, Work Excellence looks at what the Bible has to tell us on the subject of work. “The Christian standard of excellence calls us to holiness and gives God alone all the glory for every good thing He enables us to do in each and every area of our lives.” (page xiv) May it be for me and you, as well!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, The Rare Me needs to get to bed this evening.

This book was reviewed as part of a program coordinated by Diet of Bookworms. More reviews of this book should be up at Diet of Bookworms later today.