Work As Worship
Bringing the Sacred into the Secular: A Call to All Vocations
“Law is power.” That phrase came from John Inazu, a Christian and professor of law and religion. While John intended to help Christian lawyers understand their responsibility to the Lord stemming from their faith in Christ, his point reaches far beyond the legal profession. Wherever people carry responsibility—whether in a courtroom, a classroom, a kitchen, or a construction site—they carry power. And all power, he reminds us, is “playing with fire.”
In other words, your work matters—and it’s not neutral. Whether you’re a nurse or an analyst, a student or a stay-at-home parent, you’re stewarding influence. You are doing work that shapes others. You’re navigating systems, serving people, solving problems, and making decisions. That’s power—and Scripture teaches us that all power must be stewarded under God’s authority and grace.
The question then becomes: how do we bring the sacred into the secular?
Work as Worship
God never intended Sunday worship to be divorced from Monday work. Your job, your calling, your daily responsibilities—these are all places of discipleship and disciplemaking. Colossians 3:17 reminds us: “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Every spreadsheet. Every email. Every meeting. Every repair. Every delivery. Every meal prepared. Done in His name. Done with His joy. Done by His grace and in His Name
We often think sacred work happens in churches or ministries. But sacred work happens in every vocation when it’s done for God’s glory and the good of others.
The Pressures We Carry
Let’s be honest—many of us live under intense pressure. Long hours. Unreasonable expectations. Work cultures that define your worth by output. Some are working jobs where the stakes are high and the margin is thin. You feel underwater, barely coming up for air.
You’re not alone. God sees that burden. God is with you in the burden, and He not only cares, but the burden you carry matters.
As our Heavenly Father, He calls us to resist the lie that we are only as valuable as our productivity. We are not machines. We are image-bearers. He also reminds us that we must pay attention and build into our lives the rhythms of rest, margin, and worship because they aren’t luxuries—they’re lifelines.
That’s why things like scheduled times of rest, Bible meditation, prayer, and silence matter. One Christian professional described how he prayed regularly with a coworker in a quiet space at work, marking that place as sacred. It is not as though the space itself was holy, but setting aside the common for a particular purpose of worship was holy, bringing the sacred into the secular.
Others have built in regular times to unplug from devices and step away from the noise. These are modern-day spiritual disciplines—fireproof habits that help protect our hearts as we step into demanding environments.
You Are Not Your Job
One of the most powerful things a believer can remember in any field is this: You are not your title. You are not your paycheck. You are not your performance. You are a child of God, justified by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is this truth that provides you freedom from this world system… the world system in which you invade every day with sacred influence.
The sacred flexes when you serve others with your God-endowed skills outside the workplace—volunteering to serve on a ministry team at church, to share a skill through mentoring, offering a service to someone in need, helping people who can’t afford it. Not to earn anything, but to remember: My worth is not found in my profession or my resume. My calling is to serve. I serve people for no other reason than it is a form of expressing my thanks to God.
James speaks to this value when he says: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” (James 1:27). Notice how serving people who can never pay you back is the most significant expression of pure religion. Why? There is nothing in it for you… “except” worship.
The Common Good and Spreading the Fame of God
Your work is not accidental. It is not “secular.” It is deeply sacred when surrendered to God. The world needs people like you—deeply rooted in Christ, living faithfully and joyfully wherever God has placed you. When you serve others for the sheer joy of being used of God to do good on behalf of someone else, you are part of a global choir singing of the goodness of God in your actions.
Let your workplace become your mission field. Let your daily tasks become acts of worship. Let your industry be a space where God’s goodness shines through your integrity, humility, and hope.
Because when you do, we see it happen: the sacred invades the secular. And that’s where the kingdom of God quietly enters the world—one task, one conversation, one life at a time.