6. What are the consequences for today?

The biblical view of work is far removed from contemporary reality. The question unavoidably arises: "How relevant is the biblical view today?" Can today's questions even be posed from the biblical basis let alone answered? Does a close look at Scripture simply convince that the biblical understanding of work no longer corresponds to reality? The world has changed. New conditions prevail. We cannot return to the world as it was in the Bible. The preaching of the church must start from today's situation.

On the other hand, that doesn't mean that today's assumptions under which the future of work is debated should be accepted uncritically. It would be disastrous to simply accept being swept blindly along by these assumptions. Historical developments have shaken them to the point where they must be questioned. The biblical view can not simply be carried over into today's world, however, precisely because it is so radically different, it may be unexpectedly relevant today. A biblically oriented proclamation may introduce perspectives into the present day debate which open up new pathways.

6.A. Work must fit the creation.

God's creation is and remains primordial to humankind. To be sure, the framework which the creation provides for human life is not fixed once and for all. The history of the last few centuries has shown that humans have been able to extend their mastery over nature through directed research and work. Yet, no matter how far humans may push forward along this pathway, it will not change their fundamental dependence upon God's creation.

The Christian proclamation must call to mind that human beings, even though they are capable of transforming what is given into things of new value, humans never become creators. Although able to stand vis-ā-vis nature, human beings can never escape being a part of nature. Humans remain creatures within the creation, and their activity within the creation runs up against limits. Since Locke, the almost self-evident assumption – that the process of transformation and adding value can proceed without end – has proved to be illusory. The resources available to humans are not boundless. In their work, as well as elsewhere, human begins must learn to respect this fact.

As we have seen, the relationship between humankind and the earth has been disturbed since the Fall. Humans can no longer count on their work to yield the fruit they expect. The long held expectation, that work leads to ever greater freedom and happiness, has not held up. Experience has increasingly shown that human work can also bear bitter fruit. In common parlance, the creation is spoken of as "raw material". The bias shown here is that nature, in its primordial state, is "raw" and requires human processing before it is "finished". Has it not long since been seen, that human artifacts do not bring merely refinements, rather, that they prove to be "more raw", than the material out of which they have been fashioned? Does this insight, that work also wreaks destruction, not prompt one to the greatest skepticism vis-ā-vis human self realisation in work?

6.B. The deeper significance of the fourth commandment

Precisely because there are limits to the self realisation of humans, there also need to be limits to the amount of time worked. God's mandate does not call for creation to be transformed on an around the clock schedule. Rather, God's commandment invites one to find a suitable balance between work and rest and to observe it. Work is not the goal of human existence, the transformation of the creation brought about by work is not the goal, rather it is participating in God's repose. Even in work this goal should not be lost sight of. The blessed time of the Sabbath is the external sign of this turnabout.

It is the task of Christian preaching to recall this deeper significance of the Sabbath. It is certainly no accident, that in this age where work is glorified, the observance of the Sabbath has lost ground. The churches have indeed erred in caving in before the so-called necessities of modern practices of production. They have given up more than they should have. Of course, mere outward compliance in keeping the Sabbath can lead to a legalizing of spirituality. More is at stake here than just outward order. Work and rest are to be brought into the balance ordained for them by God. Work should be set back to a level that allows us to come before God. The fourth commandment invites us to slow the work process down today.

Repose also entails contemplation. The high esteem which the contemplative life enjoyed during the Middle Ages did not come from the biblical tradition. When contemplation is given high priority, disdain for physical labour can not be far. Physical work can, however, be seen as a healthy complement to contemplation. Hannah Arendt describes this as follows: "The 'vita contemplativa', in so far as it is understood as the opposite of the 'vita activa', essentially consists of a negation of a life of labour, whose task it is, to fabricate and produce, to do violence to nature, in order to build a place on earth for mortal human beings, which then is turned around completely into a life of nonviolence and non-activity, which leaves everything as it is for contemplation, in order to take its place alongside of the non temporal and eternal." [Hannah Arendt, Vita activa oder vom tätigen Leben, Stuttgart 1960, p.297]  Repose on Sundays can be interpreted from this perspective. It becomes a time of "inner work' , which humans need to do. [Mathhew Fox, The Reinvention of Work]

6.C. The precedence of God's call

What does it mean that humans are called to follow Christ? What does it mean that fulfillment is only to be found in communion with him?

It means above all, that the value of work is not to be overestimated. A person's work does not decide her salvation, and it is at least misleading to speak of a "gospel of work". Nor does a person's humanity depend upon the work which he or she does. An obituary notice or a tombstone inscription stating: "His life was work." is no proof of a fulfilled life. Just as a life without work is unsatisfying; so too, a life of exhaustion from overwork is without consolation. A person's identity goes far beyond what they do. This is especially important in an era when so many unemployed begin to despair about the sense of their lives.

The true identity of a person lies in his or her service to God and to society. Work is subordinate to this dual task. It has no purpose unto itself; it remains a contributive element.

6.D. Freedom from material goods.

In the New Testament one reads again and again how easily people become entrapped by themselves. Creating one's own world results in screening God out. As Karl Barth said, "It is true: in human work .. an apparently self sufficient cosmos is constructed out of human ability, enterprise and achievement, goods and valuables as the goal of all prior work and the prerequisite for all future human work. It lies at hand that this human edifice, like a canopy, obscures the true cosmos beyond ... indeed screening out even God, leaving people with the deception that they behold God, whom they are to serve, in the culture which they have created and which has taken on an apparent life of its own." [Karl Barth, Kirchliche Dogmatik III/4, Zollikon 1951, p.598]  Wealth possesses the uncanny power to mesmerize humans. Freedom, genuine evangelical freedom, is, therefore, only to be found through taking conscious distance from earthly goods. Both Jesus and the Christian tradition consistently warn of the danger in setting one's heart on earthly goods. An ascetic or, at least, modest life style is taken for granted.

The modern understanding of work, however, leads in exactly the opposite direction. improvement in the quality of life is to be found in the production of ever improved products. John Lockes's theory about work and property is instructive in this regard. As human beings wrest things from the earth, alter and shape them for human use, these things become their property. Locke argues that the effort invested by someone in transforming material into things makes them "part of him". His effort has fused with the object. The production and consumption of modern society is based on the assumption that the quality of human life is enhanced by producing and consuming goods. It is hardly possible to even question whether this jeopardizes one's soul or not.

The task of Christian preaching is to call to mind the basis of genuine evangelical freedom and the necessity of a modest life style. For how else shall a path be found leading out of the contradictions in which today's orientation towards economic growth entraps us?

6.E. What is needed for a full life?

John Locke was of the opinion, as we have seen, that humans continually develop new needs. Every need which is satisfied, spawns a new need which begs to be satisfied. It is through this ongoing pursuit of satisfaction that a person's mental and material well being unfold. Adam Smith and Karl Marx followed Locke in their thinking. The "path of needs" essentially knows no end. Meeting human needs is the driving force and basic rationale for human work and production.

This view is of course highly problematic: Are the needs which are satisfied genuine, or, are such needs created, in order that the process of satisfying them can be carried on? Has perhaps humankind long since fallen prisoner to the very work and production processes which they pursue? More critical still: are needs genuine, the satisfaction of which, leads to the fateful destruction of God's creation? It is becoming ever more clear that human needs have limits or need to have boundaries set, from within as well as from without.

What truly are needs? How can justifiable fundamental needs be distinguished from superfluous needs? How can the driving force of "needing" be reigned in? How shall one tell which needs exceed the boundaries set by nature? The answers to these questions are by no means evident. [See also Miroslav Volf, op. cit. pp. 143-158]

However, the biblical view may contribute a perspective which takes us further, because it starts from a radically different image of humankind: the fulfillment of human life is to be found through a communion with God, with one's fellow beings, and with the entire creation. As much as humans are seen to be dynamic and creative beings, the biblical viewpoint realizes that the sense and purpose of life are not exhausted by actualizing oneself and satisfying one's needs. In order to be human, someone does not need to experience all which life has to offer. For instance, one need not have traveled by all modes of transport known, nor have visited all destinations available. All that does not make someone more fully human. The biblical view knows, that on the contrary, one can become lost on the pathway of one's needs. However, where community is taken as the priority, one's needs automatically find boundaries. And, setting boundaries is not a matter of stunting, but of focus.

6.F. Activity and work.

Much is made today of the "end of work". This phrase refers to the fact that the production of goods and even services requires ever fewer people. A completely new situation has arisen: people now have time on their hands which earlier had to be spent in productive work. In many respects, this surplus of time is an embarrassment. How is it to be spent? Should it be introduced into new, ever more efficient, and technology intensive production processes? Or should humans simply work less?

To speak of "work" today is usually to talk of the labour force. Those who are involved in production, or in other branches which are linked to production, are said to "have" work. All others are "unemployed". Hours not used for the job are called "free time". Clearly, work, which is geared to production, has become the measure of human activity.

This narrowing has far reaching consequences. It clouds one's view of the fact that the "vita activa" reaches far beyond mere participation in the production process. Humans are called to other, even more important, activity. Even though they are required to work to earn their living, they also need to remain attentive to this other realm of action, namely, to serving God and humanity. If the production process requires less effort, then the question becomes, "how shall the relationship between these activities and work be set"?

Christian proclamation of the Gospel can perhaps contribute towards breaking down the stubborn identification of "work" and "production" and open up the horizon on the wealth of activities open to people. Pointing up the fundamental value of human life is more necessary than ever before in this time during which work is in crisis.

6.G. Work as service to one's neighbor.

The most essential contribution of the Christian Gospel is without a doubt, that work is

seen as seen as contributing to the community. Of course, work also serves to earn one's living. Beyond that, however, the purpose of work is not to gain and accumulate property, rather it is to build up the community. The needs of the community are decisive, rather than personal needs. Human work is meant to serve the community in the widest sense of the word. The petition for daily bread supports the effort, that all humans may have their fundamental needs met.

The reticence to overstate the value of human work must not be taken as a withdrawal from the world and its great neediness. On the contrary, the biblical view distinguishes itself by great passion for justice on earth. God's gifts are meant for the entire human race and may not be withheld from anyone. The sense of human work is measured by the extent to which it contributes toward social justice.

The Christian community is the place, where this mutual caring for one another is practiced and shown as an example:. "There was not a needy person among them" (Acts 4:34). This is the witness which must also be carried out in to the world today.

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