Book Report: Every Good Endeavor

In Every Good Endeavor, Tim Keller presents a Biblical view of work that engages the role of believers in the modern workplace. After first addressing the idea that work is a curse, and the Biblical curse on Adam’s work, he reviews the scope of relevant Old and New Testament scriptures. 

One fundamental conclusion is that while work may not always be fulfilling, it is one way in which we are co-laborers with God in His redemption of the earth. It is not just pastors and religious workers who thusly co-labor with God. Nor is it limited to farmers who till the earth to produce food, soldiers who defend God’s people, first responders and medical personnel who fix things gone off track. Even the most menial labor, when offered to God, can become a channel of redemption.

A challenge to the approach of separation from the world is that although good people can get sucked into doing bad things (like an evil maelstrom), unsaved people can do good things, and often do. He explains that every person operates at two levels. At the deepest core of our being, every person knows there are ultimate moral values and that they are accountable. At the rational, conscious level, unbelievers deny the truths of the Bible, may be aggressively atheist, but still hold to strong moral values and act on them. (Or they may excuse themselves by their arguments against the Truth and commit unspeakable evil.) Somehow God weaves this all together to build His kingdom.

Tim Keller’s pastorate includes many who work in financial industry, a place generally believed to be devoid of morality and focused solely on profit. He recounts several examples of people struggling with whether they should change careers, or decisions they have to make, and the potential effects on God’s plan and kingdom. Things related to morality in the immediate situation (co-workers, bosses, customers) may be important, or the sharing of the fruit to support ministries (caring for the destitute, funding churches and missionaries) may be the outcome. There is no simple rule set, and answers aren’t always clear cut. His overall worldview is that work must be placed in context, that is, the context that God places it in. He calls us to work to be productive, but to not worship work or its fruit. To not be slothful - he elaborates on a quote from Dorothy Sayers about the disguises that acedia takes. But the bottom line is to seek Christ and He will put work in its rightful place. 

So sorry to hear the he has left us and gone to his eternal reward, May 19, 2023.