This is part three of a 7-part series on the sacred/secular divide.
Last week we started down the Genesis 1 path and ended in Revelation 5:9-10.
In Genesis 1:26, we saw that we were to have dominion over everything on the earth. Two verses later, in Genesis 1:28, He follows by telling us how we are to have dominion: by subduing (meaning to bring order out of chaos) the earth. Bringing order out of chaos zooms in on what it means to have dominion, to rule and reign over God’s creation. When God created the world, He created it—not with sin, but with a level of chaos in it (Genesis 1:2). It was not suitable for man to live in, so He had to prepare it during the 6 days of creation.
Adam’s First Task
After man was created, God gave him the task of naming all the animals. Imagine a world where nothing had a name. We wouldn’t be able to identify anything, refer to anything, or call to anything. So an easy upfront task to give to Adam was to name everything, bringing some order out of that chaos.
Our Tasks
Think about it: every job you can come up with has something to do with bringing order out of chaos.
- An engineer takes raw materials (chaos) and builds buildings, bridges, sewer systems, etc.
- A designer takes raw materials and turns them into clothing, jewelry, etc.
- A janitor/cleaner takes a dirty space and makes it suitable for working or living in again.
- A parent teaches children who don’t know yet how to properly live in this world to function as productive citizens in it.
- An entrepreneur takes an idea or perhaps combines things that had never been combined before and turns it/them into a product or service.
- A lawyer brings justice into a difficult situation or helps form legal entities.
- A doctor helps restore the body to proper order from a sickness or injury.
- An electrician takes electrons and forces them to flow in such a way that we can flip a switch and get power.
- A repairman of any kind (mechanic, HVAC, etc.) takes what is broken and makes it work again.
- A teacher takes numbers and letters and organizes them so that students can process information appropriately and prepare to contribute to society.
- A secretary/admin takes the chaos of phone calls, paperwork, emails, calendar invites, etc. and organizes them systematically so that leaders don’t go crazy.
- A chef takes raw ingredients and creates a dish that ignites our tastebuds.
- An architect…
- A builder…
- A plumber…
- A painter…
- An elder (for a church or a village)…
- A manufacturer…
- A farmer…
The list goes on and on. The LORD has made every last one of us to bring order out of chaos in some way. The plane has landed.
Little Domains
Everyone has been built to have little domains under the big Domain of God, bringing order out of chaos and bringing about a thriving civilization of human flourishing (that glorifies God and enjoys Him forever…there, I said it). When you look at the list of jobs above and think of many others, more than likely, your natural, God-given skills fit into one or more of those buckets and you get excited. Now we have helped our hypothetical students have some direction in their college or job searches! Yet, there is still more to discover in the Garden. We will pick up next week.
Greg is the President of OPEN USA. He used his education to work as a tentmaker in the Middle East for 8.5 years seeking to plant a church amongst a least-reached people group. Currently back in the USA with his wife and children, they aim to return to finish what the LORD used them to start.
To learn more about B4T, read Business for Transformation by Patrick Lai.