There’s a movement among Gen Zers that puts forth the idea that one should only work if one wants to. They insist that the arts would thrive if more artistic people (who work because they have to in order to live) were supported instead by those who actually want to work, so the artists could spend their time creating.
Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money?
My first job was, like many pre-teen and teenage girls, babysitting for friends and neighbors. I wasn’t super comfortable with it, but it was a good way to have a little spending money. Then I moved on to restaurant work, then retail, and ultimately what I felt God calling me to ever since junior high: writing.
I have been incredibly blessed to be able to get paid to do what I love as a job. I’m not a very good 9-to-5 kind of person, so now, even though I work full time as a writer and editor, I do it remotely so I am able to be home.
Not everyone works in those circumstances. I realize how privileged I am. I don’t take it for granted.
There is, indisputably, lots of things wrong with current economics and the great divide between the rich and the poor. Making a living wage should be something a worker can count on, not beg for. All these problems come with man’s corruption of what God intended for good.
And so this month our Redbud writers tackle the issue of work, labor, and the concept of jubilee. From working as a writer, to a deeper look at the biblical idea of the year of jubilee, to what work looks like, you’ll see the idea of labor considered from many different angles.
As you read, consider your own work. Is your job just a means to an end, or is it a calling from God? My prayer for you as you read this issue is that God would show
you what he desires your view of your work to be.
Keep Jesus close.
Stephanie Reeves
Editor in Chief