Cultural Mandate

A farmer and his wife invited their pastor to dinner after the service one Sunday. When they had finished the fried chicken and homemade pie, the farmer gave the pastor a walking tour of his farm. As they reached the top of a hill with a panoramic view, they surveyed the farm stretched out below them with lush pastures, silos, and a large red barn. The farm’s orchard looked manicured, the rows of corn were straight, and other produce grew in geometric patches in varying hues of green. The pastor exclaimed, “God is great! How beautiful are the works of his hands!” Annoyed, the farmer replied, “You may be right, Pastor. But you should have seen this place when God had it all to himself—before I got my hands on it.” 

It may be a simplistic story, but an important truth emerges. After God had created the world, he created human beings. Then he put them in a garden and told them to multiply and cultivate the garden. This story is found in the first two chapters of Genesis and includes what is called the “Cultural Mandate.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
²⁷ So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them
male and female he created them.
²⁸ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Genesis 1:26-28

According to Scripture, God put the man in a garden and created the woman to be his partner. They were told to cultivate (sometimes translated as “keep” or “watch over”) the “garden” (the word refers to a “walled garden” or “paradise” in Aramaic). Note that God is the original worker. The creation is the product of his work. Human beings, made in his image, are also workers. They are told to multiply, fill the earth and act as God’s stewards in taking care of his creation. Cultivating the garden is part of that task. 

Fulfilling these tasks is the gist of what is known as the “Cultural Mandate.” The word “culture” comes from the word “cultivate.” To cultivate the garden is “agri-culture.” And the difference between a cultivated garden and wilderness is “order.” A cultivated garden produces more food and that food is more accessible. When I was in junior high school I raised and sold strawberries to increase my college savings account. I also enjoyed hiking in the Cascade mountains of Washington and Oregon. And, like the farmer on the previous page, I must say that the strawberries I cultivated were much larger, more profuse, and sweeter than any wild strawberry I ever found in the wilderness. 

God created the world and gave human beings the task of filling the world he created with good things. God calls us to use the natural resources he included in his creation to create more good things that benefit others. God appointed humanity to be the stewards of creation and gave us the responsibility of managing the natural resources in ways that improve life for everyone, and to do that without exploiting the creation order. The world God created is not hostile territory that humans must beat back like the attack of an enemy. Rather, the world is filled with potential that needs to be discovered and unleashed, like cultivating a garden. Our role is to become co-creators with God. But unlike God, who created out of nothing (ex nihilo), we create using the resources God entrusted to our care. Doing this well fulfills his cultural mandate and pleases God. All culture is the product of human effort and work.

Culture is more than sophisticated tastes in music, art, or literature. H. Richard Niebuhr defined culture as “The ‘artificial, secondary environment’ which humans superimpose on the natural. It comprises language, habits, ideas, beliefs, customs, and social organization, inherited artifacts, technical processes, and values.” Our God-given responsibility is to fill the earth with good things that help humanity to flourish. This is a significant part of the job description God devised for every human being, a holy calling and an important component of Kingdom living. 

God gives us the Holy Spirit to equip us to fulfill this mandate. A friend of mine wrote his wedding vows which included this promise to his bride: “I commit my life to making your life better.” This sacred promise is a model of what God calls us all to do not just for our spouses, but for our families, friends, churches, communities, and everyone else. Investing our lives to improve the lives of others is the essence of the cultural mandate.

Work Matters

God did not make humans for leisure, but for work. Work is a gift, intended to enhance life, not diminish it. Rest and leisure are also gifts from God. But unlike leisure, which is about our personal rest and recreation, work focuses on others. Work cares for creation, but also uses creation for the common good. 

“The purpose of work is to create a culture that honors God and enables people to thrive” (Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor, p. 21). The Bible connects work with God’s purposes and human flourishing, which is distinct from other world religions. 

God is a worker (John 5:17) and God made us to be workers. Work was part of paradise and part of God’s perfect design for human life. Work was a life-enhancing gift. The old Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” illustrated this concept of work. The dwarfs sang as they joyfully marched off to work: “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go!” This song reflects the joy and delight God intends us to feel as we work.

Some readers may remember seeing bumper stickers that read, “I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go.” This theme reflected what happened to work after humanity’s rebellion against God (the “fall”). Sin changed everything. Work became both arduous and joyless drudgery. An old song sung by the late Tennessee Ernie Ford captured the futility felt by coal miners who were expected to produce “Sixteen Tons” of coal per day. The refrain sounded a note of hopelessness:

Sixteen tons and what do I get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter don’t you call me because I can’t go,
I owe my soul to the company store. 

Vocation

Disciples cultivate different attitudes toward work. We want to recapture the joy and purpose God originally infused into work, beginning with our motivation, the reason we work. We treat our work as a vocation, a calling. We affirm that God calls us to our work. In the kingdom there is no distinction between secular and sacred work. All work done for God becomes sacred. Our motivation is to express love to God through the work we do for him. 

Secondly, our work becomes fulfilling only when we consciously understand it as a means of loving our neighbor. Whether we collect trash, change diapers, perform brain surgery, or work at a keyboard, our work helps others. We work to express love for God and love for our neighbor. We seek to make a difference in the world through our work. We also work to make a living, but it is not about us. We are not working to impress others or prove our worth. But since we do it for the Lord and to help others, we always give it our best effort. We always seek to offer the first and the best to God (Challenge 9).

In both Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) the word often translated as “work” can also be translated as “worship.” Before the fall, there was no difference between work and worship. The link between work and worship, although weakened, still exists. Work links what we do on Sundays with what we do on Mondays. Disciples intentionally approach work in a way that strengthens its association with worship. We seek to worship, honor, and glorify God through our work. The Spirit helps us in this endeavor. Work and worship are both done to serve and please God.

Dorothy Sayers (English author and playwright, 1893-1957) reminded her readers that Jesus was a carpenter most of his adult life. She could not imagine any furniture coming out of his shop in Nazareth with crooked legs or drawers that stuck shut. She could not accept that the one who had made the heavens and earth would make shoddy or inferior furniture. She reminded her readers that Jesus did not start serving God when he closed his carpenter’s shop to begin his public ministry, but he served God first as a carpenter and then by preaching and healing people. He did not do secular work as a carpenter. He did it for God and to help people. All of it was sacred. His entire life was an expression of serving God – his work and his worship. 

Many combat veterans look back at their military experience as one of the most meaningful experiences in their lives. Combat is horrific. Blood, gore, and chaos. Few come back without a wound of some kind. Yet combat required them to give their all – 100%. They certainly did not do it for the pay, or the pleasant conditions at their work sites, or the free food. I think it was profoundly significant, a defining experience, because they were working for something bigger and greater than themselves. They gave their best for the sake of others. Many of them never find that type of purposeful work again. But disciples who get up and go to work every morning to serve Jesus and others, know that serving a greater purpose than themselves gives their work significance and brings joy to their hearts. Living for Jesus means that we labor for Jesus regardless of the work we do.

THINKING IT THROUGH

“…he [the LORD] will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” Micah 4:2b

THE TRUTH: Jesus is the giver of life, Messiah, Savior, and Lord of all. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  

THE CHALLENGE: Disciples seek to bring every part of their lives under Jesus’ rule on their lifelong faith journey. They practice Kingdom living now in anticipation of the consummation.

The Scriptures, questions, and notes are for group discussion and personal reflection. Our goal in Tier II is character transformation which requires sustained effort and growing faith. Thinking through the questions can help you understand this challenge at a deeper level. We encourage you to focus on those questions that you find most interesting or helpful. This is not a test, but a tool to help you respond to the challenges.

Related Scriptures 

Ephesians 6:7-8 ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

1 Corinthians 15:38 ³⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

John 5:17 ¹⁷ But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

Romans 12:11 ¹¹ Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Romans 13:10 ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

Matthew 5:9 ⁹ God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

Matthew 12:30 ³⁰ “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

John 4:34 ³⁴ Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.

John 10:13 ¹³ The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

Acts 20:35 ³⁵ And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard.

Romans 12:11 ¹¹ Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Romans 16:6 ⁶ Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit.

1 Corinthians 3:5b ⁵ Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

2 Corinthians 11:27 ²⁷ I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

Galatians 6:4 ⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

Colossians 3:23 ²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 ³ As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 ¹¹ Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.

Revelation 14:13 ¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Questions

You are encouraged to use these questions for group discussion or personal reflection. Respond to the questions that are most relevant or interesting to you (I urge you to write your responses in a journal or notebook).

1. Take time to reflect on your work – all the different types of work you typically do. Does it feel disconnected from your faith or is it an expression of your faith?

2. Who benefits from the various kinds of work you do?

3. Do you view your job or the primary work you do as a means of making a difference in the world or merely a means of making a living?

4. Do you work to serve your own needs (status, power, recognition, fulfillment, etc.) or do you see it as serving Jesus and/or others?

5. Does faithfully following Jesus require you to make any corrections in your attitudes and motivation toward your work? If so, what do you need to change?

6. Have you brought your work under the Lordship of Jesus? Write key insights, positive or negative, that have emerged from your reflections.

7. Think about your role in your family, about your chief responsibilities and your regular chores in your home. Do you see how these duties could be considered a means of worship?

8. Where do you volunteer to work in a way that is intended to help others beyond yourself and family? Could you consider this worship?

9. How could framing some part of your regular work routine (that you do not enjoy) as worship make it feel more meaningful or enjoyable?

10. If you supervise others or have a management role, do you believe part of your responsibility is to help those you supervise flourish or do you view them as a means to help you succeed and flourish?

11. If you considered your daily work as a means of worshiping and pleasing God, would it require you to do your job to the very best of your ability or would a mediocre effort be sufficient? Why?

Copyright © 2024 Don Waite

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