Bring your Work into Harmony with our Way of Life

Our walk with Jesus is formed by the people we meet, the things we do, and the places we go. Into every thing we do we bring our full selves. We spend a large amount of our lives on our second vocation, work. Take care that your work is in harmony with our Way of Life.

Our work brings many people, things, tasks, and places into our lives. All that we do is an opportunity for us to embody the love, grace, and hope of Jesus. Allow the work, whether of body or mind, to be pleasing worship to our God. Everyone we meet through our work is deeply loved by God. Jesus extends to them the same divine mercy and grace that has saved us. In this way, all work is sacred and holy. All work can be done together with God. Our work is a part of our ongoing formation and sanctification.

There are countless good, fulfilling, and sanctifying ways to work as a monastic. There is no perfect kind of work and no hierarchy to what we do for work. Work is a necessity of life and is second to our vocation of prayer. We have expenses and obligations that require us to work to earn money. We should be intentional and careful to bring our work into harmony with this Way of Life. We accept the invitation from God to become a monastic with the hope of seeing our lives and creation drawn closer to God. Do not choose work that hinders this hope. Not every kind of work aligns with a monastic way of life and values.

We are encouraged to be thoughtful about the ways our work allows us to embody the Fruit of the Spirit and God’s love. Our contemporary world is an overlapping mesh of interconnected systems. Some of those systems cause exploitation, dehumanization, and harm. When our work intersects with these realities, prayerfully pursue ways with God and others to heal and redeem the systems. Our work provides unique opportunities for us to participate in the Kingdom of God, and for God’s will to be done on earth.

May our prayers to sustain and save the world meet our work to see the same.

An Urban Monastic is only explicitly prohibited from work that expects us to use violence or to kill a person. We cannot act violently or take the life of another person. We cannot direct or instruct those who are expected to use violence or kill another person. This comes from the chapter of our Way of Life titled Reject Acts of Violence and Do Not Kill.

• Reflect on the ways you have seen your work draw you closer to God.
• Meditate on the ways you have seen your work draw parts of creation closer to God.
• Reflect on recent ways you have seen God’s Love and the Fruit of the Spirit show through you in your work.
• What connections do you see between your work and our Way of Life?
• Reflect on moments in your work that have helped you see God’s love for all people.
• Celebrate the moments during your work where you experience harmony with our Way of Life.
• Celebrate heading into work with a humble heart and a posture of love and grace.
• How do you understand your work to be a part of God’s will being done on earth? His Kingdom coming?
• What disconnects are there between your work and the rest of your life that fragment who you are? Invite God to help make you more whole.
• Grieve the ways that your work requires so much of your time, body, and mind.
• Contemplate the ways your presence in your work has brought healing and hope to creation.
• Grieve your actions at work that have lacked love and the Fruit of the Spirit.
• Meditate on adjustments or changes to your work that God may be inviting you to make.
• What, if any, systems is your work attached to that cause harm? Are there ways you can seek to transform or remove those systems? Are there others who can help you?
• If you previously did prohibited work, what might it look like for you to pursue forgiveness and repentance for the work you did?
• If your work is prohibited, why do you believe a child of God is worthy of death at your hand or instruction?