Katherine Leary Alsdorf Speaks About Joy in Work

Bethel’s “Faith in the Public Square” Convocation series continued with Katherine Leary Alsdorf, an expert in the field of faith and work, who spoke in chapel last week about the connection between the Old Testament book of Genesis and our work.

In tying Genesis to our work, Alsdorf—senior fellow of the Faith, Work and Leadership Initiative; founder and director emeritus, the Center for Faith & Work, New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church; and co-author of Every Good Endeavor—said, “The text helps us use the materials God has given us to realize our mission and help others flourish.” She encouraged the audience to be just as excited about what they do as God was when He looked at His creation and said, “It is good.”

The account of Adam and Eve in the garden speaks to the “problem of sin in the world and the problem of sin in us,” said Alsdorf. The fall makes it hard for us to work, she continued, because “we’re selfish and our work is selfish. It’s about creating an identify for ourselves and about a sense of control. We live as if we were born an empty slate.” Yet as creations of a loving God, she asserted, “this notion makes us ungrateful for our success. Our goal is to find joy in work, and it’s God’s plan for us to glorify Him.” One way Christians can do just that, she said, is “to decide to love our work and to understand the good the work is doing.”