Deeper ReflectionWHAT WE DO IN OUR WORK HERE ON EARTH IS AN INTEGRAL part of what God has always intended: bringing His
shalom to a broken world. The Hebrew word
shalom is often translated as “peace” in English. But as Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. notes, “
shalom means far more than just peace of mind or ceasefire between enemies. In the Bible,
shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts are fruitfully employed…
Shalom, in other words, is the way things are supposed to be”
21.In Jeremiah chapter 29, the exiled people of Israel hear from the prophet Jeremiah that they were to “build houses”, “plant gardens” and “take wives and have sons and daughters” (vv.5-6), so that through their work and lives, they would “seek the
shalom of the city” (v.7;
shalom here translated as “welfare” in ESV, NAS, and “peace and prosperity” in NIV, NLT). Now, this would have been understandable if the instructions were given when they were residing in the Promised Land, but these were actually given when they were in exile in Babylon! But God tells the people of Israel then – and reminds Christians today – that wherever God has placed us, we are to use our skills and talents, so that through our work the people around us can be blessed. As Katherine Alsdorf stated, “our work is a critical way in which God is caring for human beings and renewing His world”
22. Thus, our work enables us to be agents of God’s divine purpose of
shalom.
21 Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be (Eerdmans, 1996).
22 Quoted in Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavour (Hodder & Stoughton, 2014).
