Design and Dignity | Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller
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Last month we spent some time on Finish, by Jon Acuff, which is a great way to start the new year and to learn about goals. For this month, we’re looking at Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller and Katherine Leary Alsdorf. You can grab a copy today and follow along with us!
Every Good Endeavor
Just from the name of this book, I had a feeling it might be special. Every Good Endeavor. That roped me in, in a good way. I started asking questions like, “What is a good endeavor?” and “Is this going to convince me to quit my job?” and “What if it’s just a really literal title and the book actually lists every good endeavor?”
I admit, I’m still kind of intrigued by that last prospect.
Anyway, this book turned out to be a real gem. I’ll warn you, as I kind of wish that I had been warned: it’s a little dense. In all the right ways, to be sure, but there is a lot of meat which might make it tough for a casual read. But if you set aside the time and energy to really dig into it, you’ll find yourself answering questions you never knew you were asking.
The Book
The subtitle of the book is “Connecting Your Work to God’s Work” and that about sums it up in the most succinct way. Tim Keller and Katherine Leary Alsdorf set out to answer the question: “What does my nine to five have to do with being a Christian?”
Their approach to answering that question goes far beyond the typical Sunday School answer of sharing the Gospel in the workplace. While yes, that is an important component of being a believer and in the workforce, it turns out there is far more to the story.
The authors present the issue of work as a calling in the truest sense: our work is ordained by God for a purpose. From cleaning toilets at an office building to being the CEO of the company who owns it, and everywhere in-between, there is a purpose in work and a purpose in doing it well.
The authors posit that work, in the Biblical sense of purpose, is not something we do for our own fulfillment or just to make ends meet, but it is all part of the grander command of God to fill and subdue creation, as His image bearers.
A surprising element, for me, was how this idea also translated to chores and creativity.
For one, I hate yard work. It’s hard for me to see it as anything resembling something holy. But Tim Keller has almost convinced me otherwise.
…almost.
On Creativity
It may be easy to see this as a book for the “professional” but there are profound encouragements for the creative found in these pages as well. What does creativity have to do with anything? It can be easy to feel like creativity and Kingdom work don’t have any fellowship, but that’s simply not true.
The book goes pretty deep into the subject, but a short summary is that as we create, we inspire, and as we inspire, we motivate, and as we motivate, that causes other people to work and create and this becomes a kind of cycle. It’s the idea that if work is our way of fulfilling the commandment to fill and subdue the earth, and creativity inspires more of that to happen in a better way, then by being creative, we are helping that commandment in an explosive way.
So create. Be creative. Inspire people with your art and do your part in filling the earth.
To Flourish
God made His creation in such a way that it should flourish. He didn’t create a stagnant rock and hope for the best. No, we serve an incredibly creative Creator (that should be obvious) who designed His creation to flourish.
As we work and as we contribute to society in a moral and ethical way, we are helping all of creation to do exactly that. When I think about it in these terms, it’s really exciting to think about being involved in that process.
Like, when I create a piece of art (or even as I write these words!) in a small way, I’m contributing to the good of people, and by doing that, I’m helping contribute to God’s design of excellence for His creation.
Pretty neat.
For me, this book really inspired me to take work a little more seriously (okay fine, even yard work) because it is all part of the design to make creation better.
So who is this book for? I’d say it’s for anyone wondering how their day job is a ministry or a calling. It’s for anyone struggling to find the grander purpose in their creativity. It’s for church staff who might need reminding of the purpose for people. It’s for the entrepreneur looking to build a business firmly rooted in faith. Dare I say, reader, this book just might be for you.
