Doing Work

When Monday Morning Matters to God

Have you ever dragged yourself out of bed on a Monday morning and thought, "Is this really what life's about?" Or you've found yourself quietly checking out at work, doing just enough to get by whilst your mind's already clocked off for the day.

This week at Crowd Church, Matt Edmundson was joined by Sharon Edmundson and Ellie Light for an honest conversation about work from a Christian perspective. They explored everything from quiet quitting to craftsmanship, from burnout to balance, and discovered that God's view of work might be quite different from what we've been told.

We've Got Work All Wrong

Our culture's message about work is straightforward: work hard to earn your value. Get the promotion, climb the ladder, prove yourself worthy. Or, if that's not working out, check out emotionally and just do the bare minimum.

But here's where it gets interesting. Sharon pointed out something profound from Scripture: "Work was established by God before the fall of humanity, meaning it's part of God's original design for human life."

Genesis 1:28 records God blessing Adam and Eve, saying, "be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Then Genesis 2:15 tells us, "the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it."

Before sin, before everything went wrong, work was there. Matt raised an important point: "Work is not just about paid employment but encompasses all forms of productive labour." Whether you're teaching English to non-native speakers like Sharon, designing theatre sets like Ellie, running an e-commerce business like Matt, or raising children at home, it's all work. And according to Scripture, it's all ordained by God.

You're Already Valuable

The panel explored a verse from Colossians 3:23 that completely reframes how we approach our jobs: "Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward."

Sharon explained the revolutionary nature of this: "Culture says you should exercise in order to become more desirable, and as you become more desirable, you will become more valuable. What the Bible says is completely the other way round."

She referenced 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Don't you realise that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. For God bought you with a high price, so you must honour God with your body."

The key phrase? "You were bought with a high price - past tense. Your value has already been established. It's infinite."

This changes everything. You're not working to earn value. You're working from a place of already being valued.

Working Heartily in Real Life

So what does "working heartily" actually look like when your boss is frustrating, your job feels meaningless, or you're struggling to find employment?

When Work Feels Frustrating

Ellie, who works as a freelance theatre designer, shared her honest struggle: "I quite like this and I found this quite helpful when I've been struggling with some of my projects and if I'm working with someone who's frustrating me for example... it's really nice being like I'm drawing these Christmas trees for the Lord instead of for other people."

She has discovered that reframing her work - even the complex parts - as something she's doing for God, rather than just for a demanding client, completely shifts her perspective.

When You're Exhausted

The panel didn't shy away from discussing work-life balance. Ellie admitted she'd had "probably the busiest most intense like highest responsibility jobs" this year, leading to exhaustion.

But she's been learning something powerful: "The thing that has really helped that is inviting God into it... going to people in your church for advice on how to get a better work life balance and praying through it and inviting God into kind of everyday eventually it is making a difference."

She also shared about starting to honour the Sabbath this year: "Just the way that it completely interrupts stress is incredible and just forces you to slow down... If you're saying like I'm just not going to work for a whole day in my busiest season is massive and that's really honouring to God."

When You Feel Undervalued

Matt shared a powerful personal story about a time he felt underpaid in an employed role: "I was moaning to God in prayer... and I just felt God say to me, 'Matt, you see your employer as your provider. I'm your provider.'"

That shift in perspective—recognising God as the ultimate source, rather than an employer—changed everything. "The year that I did that... we were given financial gifts that were more than my salary that year."

The principle isn't that God will always give you extra money if you pray. Instead, it's about where you're placing your trust and security.

When Work Feels Meaningless

Ellie voiced something many people feel: "Sometimes I just feel like oh my job is useless and that it's not helpful and it doesn't do anything to advance the kingdom or doesn't make an impact in people's lives because I'm just drawing things."

The panel turned to Exodus 31:1-5, where God specifically anoints Bezalel as a craftsman: "I have called by name Bezalel... I have filled him with the spirit of God with ability and intelligence with knowledge and all craftsmanship to devise artistic design to work in gold, silver and bronze."

Matt emphasised: "God has anointed different people for different jobs and they've all got their own value in themselves." Whether you're creating art, teaching languages, running a business, or caring for children at home, God sees dignity and purpose in all of it.

The Acres of Diamonds

Matt shared a powerful illustration about a farmer who owned land and worked it, but wasn't finding enjoyment in his work. When he heard about the fortunes being made in diamond mines, he sold everything and set out to search for diamonds elsewhere.

He spent all his money, found nothing of value, and died broke and broken.

Meanwhile, the person who bought his farm was walking across a stream one day when something caught his eye - the start of one of the largest diamond mines in the world, right there on the land the first farmer had abandoned.

The lesson? "The very thing which you're seeking that you want to give up everything and go and find which you think is over there might be right here where you are."

Matt connected this to the modern tendency toward quiet quitting or constantly job-hopping: "Quite often we quit work or we stop work because we don't feel like we're enjoying it and I think it's easy to go I'm not enjoying it therefore it's not from God because God tells me to enjoy my work."

But there's another way: "If you take a job and you become really really good at that job and intentionally grow in it work hardly as unto the Lord you will find enjoyment in it... The science and the data tells us you might not enjoy it at the start... but the more you do it the better you get."

It's about becoming a craftsman. It's about pursuing excellence, not for promotion or pay, but as an offering to God.

Finding the Balance

The panel was refreshingly honest about the tensions in all of this. Sharon shared about the decision she and Matt made years ago for her to stay home with their children, even though it meant giving up the most significant part of their household income: "I really wanted to stay at home with our kids... everyone before God is responsible for what they do."

They also discussed how they've implemented a Saturday Sabbath: "We decided that we would take Saturday as a day off for our family and not do any work and you know what I totally love it because it is that sense of okay I don't have to achieve anything today."

Sharon compared it to tithing finances: "This book talked about doing that as the Sabbath being the first day of the week just saying God I'm giving you this day and I'm trusting you with the rest of the week." Matt was honest about seasons: "There tend to be seasons... This is going to be a season of busyness... for the next week few weeks month how long it's going to be life is going to be hectic and life is going to be busy. And I think that's okay because it's a season."

The key is that seasons have end dates. What's problematic is when the season becomes perpetual.

Your Next Step This Week

Here are practical ways to apply these principles:

1. Reframe Your Why - Before you start work tomorrow, take a moment to pray: "Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have given me this gift. I honour you today by doing my best to steward this gift. I exercise in faith that you gave me this gift, and I do it to honour you." Notice how this alters your approach to even the most mundane tasks.
2. Identify Your Provider - If you're stressed about money or job security, ask yourself: who am I really trusting as my provider? Write down your worries and physically hand them to God in prayer.
3. Become a Craftsman - Whatever your work, commit to growing in excellence. Take a course, read a book, find a mentor. Pursue mastery not for status, but as an offering to God.
4. Practice Sabbath - Choose one day this week to stop working altogether. If that feels impossible, start with half a day. See what happens when you trust God with your time.
5. Find the Diamonds - Before you quit your current job or check out emotionally, ask God if there might be "diamonds" right where you are that you haven't discovered yet.

It's All Gift

The panel kept returning to this beautiful truth: work is a gift, not a burden. Yes, it's hard sometimes. Yes, it can be frustrating. Yes, the fall has made it more difficult than God originally intended. But at its core, work is a partnership with God.

As Sharon put it: "All different types of work have got dignity whereas within our cultures we tend to like rank each other... but from the Bible I kind of feel like God has anointed different people for different jobs and they've all got their own value in themselves."

Whether you're designing sets for Christmas plays, teaching English to women from different cultures, building e-commerce businesses, or raising the next generation, you're not earning your value. You're already infinitely valuable. You're simply honouring the gift.

A Question Worth Asking

What would change if you genuinely believed that your work - whatever it is - matters to God? That he sees value in your spreadsheets, your school runs, your customer service calls, your late-night creativity? What if Monday morning actually matters to God?

When you work heartily as unto the Lord, remembering that your trustworthy Provider is God Himself, something shifts. The frustration doesn't disappear, but purpose emerges. The difficulties remain, but dignity returns.

You're not just clocking in and out. You're partnering with the God who worked creation into being, who values craftsmanship, who sees infinite worth in you already.

That changes Monday morning. That changes everything.