Christ Delights in Work Well Done

“What do you like about the kind of work you do?” I asked a fellow dad as we watched our sons during their basketball practice. It wasn’t an unusual question for me to ask, as I’m naturally curious about people’s careers and work environments. His answer, however, surprised me: “I’ve never thought about what I like about my work. I was good at the skills required, and it’s provided well for my family.”

At first glance, his answer seems typical, a reflection of his calling to provide for his family. But I knew enough about him to know his approach to work was anything but ordinary. Rather than a simple means to an end, he approached every meeting, project, and deliverable as an opportunity to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

People have always had a call to work. Since Eden, God has created us to have dominion over the earth and enjoy him forever (Genesis 1:28). Toil and hardship have cursed our labors since the fall (Genesis 3:16–19), but our human calling to work remains — not just to be busy but to be productive. For Adam, it was tending the garden; for Eve, it was bearing children. For some today, it’s full-time ministry in a local church, or church planting on the mission field, or discipleship on the college campus.

But what if you’re an ordinary professional? Just like my friend at the basketball court, even those of us who work at a desk can glorify God in every spreadsheet, meeting, project, and email. Over the years, after hundreds of interviews and conversations, I’ve observed three qualities of people who glorify God in their everyday vocation: resolve in the calling, grit because of joy, and dedication to others’ flourishing.

Resolve in the Calling

Ordinary professionals who glorify God demonstrate a rootedness in the work they do, a consistent posture that says, “This work, here and now, is the most valuable use of my talent, energy, and applied knowledge — because God has placed me in this role.”

“Joy, not sheer willpower, lets a settled worker stay planted through a hard quarter or a thankless task.”

This stance recalls Paul’s prayer for the believers in Thessalonica: “[We pray] that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12). The calling to which Paul refers is discipleship in Christ, but this discipleship includes all of life, including ordinary work. The work itself — whether mundane, messy, or miraculous — matters less than our approach to and goal for it: that we resolve to do it well for God’s glory.

Such resolve does not consider work as a mere duty but embraces it with joy. Nehemiah told the returning exiles, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). That joy, not sheer willpower, lets a settled worker stay planted through a hard quarter or a thankless task. Our endurance comes from the joy we have in God, who has already prepared our good works ahead of time (Ephesians 2:10).

Grit Because of Joy

A second quality of God-glorifying workers is grit. Recently popularized by Angela Duckworth’s 2018 book Grit, the word denotes perseverance in the modern era. This worldly flavor of grit, though often impressive to behold, starts, centers, and ends with self.

And yet, grit is actually an ancient biblical concept. We can look to Paul, arguably the grittiest worker for God’s kingdom, and his description of the quality: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Paul presents a startling juxtaposition: He describes not only his own perseverance (“I worked harder”) but also God’s hand in the work (“though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me”). Christ-honoring grit pairs humility with boldness, work with grace, effort with surrender.

This kind of grit is not merely clenched-teeth endurance. Its deepest paradigm comes from Jesus himself, who endured the cross “for the joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus doesn’t model stoic self-denial for its own sake. Joy pulled him through suffering to the glory on the other side. Our grit at work can be the same: not white-knuckling our way through a hard project but fixing our eyes on the joy set before us in Christ, trusting that our perseverance brings him greater glory.

Dedication to Others’ Flourishing

Those who glorify God in ordinary work cultivate the flourishing of those around them: colleagues, employees, and leaders. With the complexities of many modern work environments, signs of flourishing can be obscure, nuanced, and complex. Yet cultivating the flourishing of those around us reflects our calling. We multiply God’s glory when we facilitate the joyful work of others.

Paul exemplifies this concept in his second letter to the Corinthians, after recounting his servant-hearted interactions with them. “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls,” he says (2 Corinthians 12:15). For Paul, godly work means pouring out his time, energy, and resources for the good of others without reserve.

“We were made to work and to enjoy God forever — and in Christ, those are never competing directives.”

That is the hallmark of one who glorifies God at the office: selflessly investing in the people around you so that they may do their best, most enduring, and most flourishing work. Perhaps you run a productive meeting with a clear agenda and outcomes, or you deliver honest and accountable feedback. Maybe you foster a healthy environment for work relationships or overlook minor offenses. You might know and invest in your colleagues personally. Best of all, you could share the hope of glory that resides in you: Christ.

Jesus taught his disciples so that “my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). His joy overflows into us and prompts ours to overflow into others. Flourishing, then, is joy that multiplies — we invest in colleagues not merely so the organization runs well but so the joy we have in Christ flows into the people we work alongside every day.

Work for Joy

What kind of work do you do? Are you a resolved worker with grit who cultivates the flourishing of others? Or are you just an excellent employee, with no need for Jesus at all? God-honoring work hinges not on our actions but on the motivations driving them: Satisfaction rooted in the joy of the Lord rather than in professional ambition. Grit that runs on the joy set before us rather than sheer resolve. Flourishing that multiplies Christ’s joy in others rather than merely managing staff.

This is what it looks like for dominion and delight to meet in the office. They are not two separate agendas but one calling with a single aim. We were made to work and to enjoy God forever — and in Christ, those are never competing directives. To echo David: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). God doesn’t reserve his joy-filled presence for Sunday. Through his Spirit, he’s available in the meeting, at the deadline, in front of the difficult colleague, and on the ordinary Tuesday — and with each item on the agenda, he offers you fullness of joy.

So, take up your spreadsheets and your standups this week, and set about your work resolved, gritty, and flourishing — for joy and glory.