Bach, Hamilton, And Ambition In Our WorkSample

On Your Deathbed

Throughout Scripture, Christians are commanded to work hard. Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.” Over the past two days, we have been looking at the lives and work of Johann Sebastian Bach and Alexander Hamilton: two men who poured “unimaginable energy” into their work.

But while the Bible is clear that we are to “work with all our hearts,” it’s equally clear that our “motives are weighed by the Lord” (Proverbs 16:2). Both Bach and Hamilton clearly worked with all of their hearts. The difference in their stories is why they worked like they were running out of time. The difference is one of motivation. 

The second half of Colossians 3:23 says “[Work] for the Lord, not for human masters.” And therein lies the key. If we work to make a name for ourselves, we will never be satisfied. We will never feel as if our work is more than a job, a true calling on our lives. And, like Hamilton, we will inevitably devastate our life and that of those we love. But if we, like Bach, see our work as a means of revealing God’s character and the work as a primary instrument by which we love our neighbors, then we have proper ambition to write, work, and create like we are running out of time, because, in fact, we are!

Everyone knows the cliché that nobody lies on their deathbed wishing they had spent more time at the office. While imminent death certainly clarifies what is and what is not important in life, this cliché is based on the unbiblical myths that work is inherently bad and meaningless unless you are doing the work of a “full-time missionary”. If you reimagine your work as a calling from God and work for the sake of His glory and the good of others, can you imagine a scenario in which you are lying on your deathbed wishing you had spent more time in your work? I know I can. And I pray you can too.

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