Christian Worldview Research Paper

Many people would not believe that worldview would be involved in the topic of work, but it certainly is. Worldview stretches throughout almost every facet of our lives and is even an intricate part of work. Christian and secular viewpoints differ immensely when it comes to work. Many Christians believe that work is an intricate part of God’s plan for mankind while the secular viewpoint sees it as more of a personal, everyday activity the serves no more of a purpose that that of personal success. The secular worldview has distorted the context of work and only the Christian worldview can redeem it to its original context.

First we must compare Christian worldview and secular worldview to see how they are different. Christians believe that

labor and economic development, using minds and hands in a communal effort, are part of the original commission from God. In our work we cooperate with God in the task of redemption. We are to use our economic resources and our labor as God has commanded of us as a way to grow closer to God and keep the sacred and secular together as one. This idea came about during the Protestant Reformation. During this time, many reformers protested against differing between the sacred and the secular. Martin Luther rejected the idea that monks and clergy were engaged in holier work than shopkeepers or housewives. He had the idea that God expects us to use our unique talents toward productive ends in order to serve others. Many people adopted Luther’s viewpoint and this was a driving force behind the industrial revolution. People viewed their every day jobs as important and this allowed for massive amounts of innovation and eventually to the industrial revolution. The impact that the protestant work ethic had on how work is viewed is one of the greatest examples of how Christian worldview can revolutionize a culture and bring about innovation and change. This viewpoint was popular for many years, but is beginning to fade as the secular worldview of work begins to rise in popularity.
The secular worldview of work is quite different from the Christian Worldview. To many people, the Protestant work ethic has become a statement of personal success. This is exemplified by how Adam Smith once defined work. He defined it as having a sole purpose of fulfilling one’s self-interest. Essentially he viewed work’s sole purpose to be for selfish gains and not at all for people to help each other. This worldview also believes that the economy is apart from that moral influence of law or church or family. During the industrial revolution this viewpoint removed morality from work altogether. This led to many abuses including child labor, poor working conditions and low pay. We live in an era of capitalism which depends on moral culture. Without it, our society cannot function as it was meant to. This is because a free market readily supplies to the choices that we make whether they be moral or immoral. People have the power to do what they want and if morals are thrown out of the picture then our society would live in chaos.
The context of work has been distorted because the sacred, such as morals, have been differentiated from the secular.

Many people today have become obsessed with success in the here and now. They are too focused on their own personal gains which takes away their want to help others. To these people work does not have a transcendent purpose as a means of serving and loving God. This can be redeemed by showing people that intertwining the sacred and secular parts of work can have substantial impacts. Capitalism provides the best opportunity for economic growth and human freedom only if it is tempered by compassion and regard for social justice. Work is a gift of God that imparts a sense of personal fulfillment and useful service. The secular worldview has many negative viewpoints on work, but it is only the Christian worldview that provides a high view of work that gives meaning and dignity to human labor. Along with that, only the Christian worldview provides the moral foundation essential to preserving free economic systems. We must bring back the idea that work is so much more than a means of supporting oneself. The Christian worldview assists in this by providing a higher meaning to human labor than the secular worldview does (Colson, Chuck and Pearcy).

The Christian worldview and secular worldview differ in many ways. The Christian worldview has been popular ever since the Protestant Reformation and has lead to the modernization of our culture. The secular worldview however is gaining popularity. It has distorted the context of work and it is only with the Christian worldview that it can be redeemed. Work must be instilled with a sense of morality for it to have a higher meaning and function correctly. In other words, we must keep sacred and secular together as one when it comes to the topic of

work.