The Book

Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller – what even caused me to pick up this book? Well, honestly, I don’t like to waste time. I realize how sacred every day is. If I’m going to be spending my time working, I want it to outlast beautiful pictures. It should be deep and meaningful. People and relationships are what matters most. I want to number my days. This book is a must read for every Christian in business! It transformed my work and even led me to starting a Dallas Christian Women in Business Mastermind this year!

The Parts

When I heard about this book,  Every Good Endeavor, which is subtitled Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, I knew I wanted to learn more about how I could practically do that. He’s brilliantly broken the book up into three sections:

1. God’s Plan for Work
2. Our Problems with Work
3. The Gosepel and Work

I ‘m not going to spoil the book for you – I practically highlighted every page on Every Good Endeavor! But, here are some takeaways to meditate on!

Everything We Do Matters for Eternity

“If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling can matter forever.” (pg 14)

Purpose of Our Work

“If the point of work is to serve and exalt ourselves, then our work inevitably becomes less about the work and more about us. Our aggressiveness will eventually become abuse, our drive will become burnout, and our self-sufficiency will become self-loathing. But, if the purpose of work is to serve and exalt something beyond ourselves, then we actually have a better reason to deploy our talent, ambition, and entrepreneurial vigor – and we are more likely to be successful in the long run, even by the world’s definition.” (pgs 57-58)

Security

“Many (modern) people seek a kind of salvation – self-esteem and self-worth – from career success. This leads us to seek only high-paying,  high-status jobs, and to “worship” them in perverse ways. But the gospel frees us from the relentless pressure of having to prove ourselves and secure our identity through work, for we are already proven and secure. It also frees us from a condescending attitude toward less sophisticated labor and from envy over more exalted work. All work now becomes a way to love the God who saved us freely; and by extension, a way to love our neighbor.” (pg 63)

Work as Worship

“Your daily work is ultimately an act of worship to the God who called and equipped you to do it – no matter what kind of work it is.”  (pg 71)

Name for Christ, or Name for Ourselves

“Without the gospel of Jesus, we will have to toil not for the joy of serving others, nor the satisfaction of a job well done, but to make a name for ourselves.” (pg 107)

Deriving Meaning

“We have an alternate or counterfeit god if we take anything in creation and begin to “bow down” to it – that is to love, serve, and derive meaning from it more than from the true God.” (pg 128)

Enjoying Work

“Christians have been set free to enjoy working. If we been to work as if we were serving the Lord, we will be freed from both overwork and underwork. Neither the prospect of money and acclaim, nor the lack of it, will be our controlling consideration. Work will be primarily a way to please God by doing his work in the world, for his name’s sake.” (pg 220)

More to Life Than Work

“Often we can’t see our work properly until we get some distance from it and reimmerse ourselves in other activities. Then we see that there is more to life than work. With that perspective and rested bodies and minds, we return to do more and better work.” (pg 24)

If you like business education, you may also like this post with my top ten podcasts for small business owners!