Every Good Endeavor—Tim Keller & Katherine AlsdorfSýnishorn

Work Becomes Selfish

One of the reasons work is both fruitless and pointless is the powerful inclination of the human heart to make work, and its attendant benefits, the main basis of one’s meaning and identity… it becomes a way to distinguish myself from my neighbor, to show the world and prove to myself that I’m special. It is a way to accumulate power and security, and to exercise control over my destiny. 

Nowhere is the shift from work as grateful stewardship of our gifts to neurotic fabrication of our self-worth more evident than in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. In Genesis 1 and 2, work is a joyful cultivation of creation for its own sake and God’s sake…In Genesis 11, we come to the famous story of the building of the Tower of Babel.

What were the builders of the tower doing their work for? What are most of today’s most ambitious workers doing their work for? Verse 4 tells us vividly—and the motivation has not changed from that day to this one. It was to maximize their power, glory, and autonomy. Yet even this boast reveals their radical insecurity… “To make a name” in the language of the Bible is to construct an identity for ourselves. We either get our name—our defining essence, security, worth, and uniqueness—from what God has done for us and in us (Revelation 2:17), or we make a name through what we can do for ourselves.

I want to make it clear at this point that no one can live entirely out of the pure impulse to serve the interests of other people at all times. Even the most loving, morally beautiful people fall prey to motives of self-interest, fear, and glory-seeking. Our acceptance of our own brokenness—and the world’s—keeps us going back to God to remember what we cannot do on our own. As a matter of fact, it’s very dangerous to think of certain people as being “the good ones” who work to serve and of others as “the bad ones” who are seeking to prove and serve themselves. The DNA of self-centeredness and competitive pride are at work deep in each of us. 

Excerpt from Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller. Reprinted by arrangement with Penguin Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2012 by Timothy Keller

Reflection 

Where do you see self-interest, fear, and glory-seeking in your work today?

Prayer

Father, may your grace meet me where I am prone to striving out of self-interest, fear, and glory-seeking. Help me find my security and worth in you.

Option for Further Exploration

Click to watch a talk, How the Gospel Prepares Your Heart for Work, from Center for Faith and Work.