The philosopher Plato wrote some of his most influential material between 399 and 347 BC, but his most controversial thoughts he never wrote down. Called the "unwritten doctrine" (
agrafa dogmata), Plato believed that writing it down would detract from its power. Many of his listeners and followers did write it down, however, and the thoughts contained therein appear to have profoundly shaped later movements such as Gnosticism (2nd century AD) and Neoplatonism (3rd century AD).
Basically, the "unwritten doctrine" contained Plato's views of the relationship between the ultimate Good and the material universe. Gnosticism severely modified Plato's views to assert that the material universe is inherently evil and that the higher spiritual "forms" are good. Neoplatonism tried to correct the Gnostics by saying that the material universe is not inherently evil, but it is of lesser importance than the spiritual "forms" to which the material universe aims to conform.
Those of us who live in Western societies are shaped by Platonism, Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism more than we imagine. I could go on and on about how these philosophies influence our views on God, history, prayer, the afterlife, and so on. But I want to zero in on one topic: work.
Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho, It's Off to Work We GoAlmost every man on the planet works. Most men in the West see their work as a means to an end. They work to get money so that they can buy toys and cars and houses. They work to get a good recommendation for a better job. They work to climb a corporate ladder and receive recognition for their success.
Religion doesn't really offer a better alternative. Christian religion says that what you really need to do is stop cussing, throw away all your secular music, be a good person who works for Jesus, and focus on going to heaven. Pastors and missionaries are the people who are doing full-time Christian work, and the rest of you, well, you just need to make sure you're supporting the church in "God's work."
What results is the really weird Christian guy who leaves tracts on the urinals at work, reads the book of Revelation when he should be doing data input, and has
Matthew 6:33 scrolling across his screen saver. Is this what it means to be a Christian in the workplace?
Men are GardenersI think Christians have unknowingly adopted Platonic dualism into their thinking, believing that business, money, computers, stock markets, carpentry, environmental science, and postal service are in some way less godly than preaching the Bible or going to youth group.
The book of Genesis describes God as creating human beings to work, and this is
before they offended God and experienced punishment for their wrong (
Gen 2:15). God made the first man to be a gardener who, according to Tim Keller's analysis, is responsible for taking the raw materials of seed and soil and rearranging them for God's glory and man's good.
Ever since Adam, humans have been gardening. Music is rearranging the raw materials of instrument and voice for human flourishing. Plumbing is rearranging the raw materials of pipes and water for human flourishing. Even an ice cream store is rearranging the raw materials of milk and sweet candies for human flourishing.
When humans offended God, frustration and defeat was introduced as one of the consequences (
Gen 3:17-19). Even men who trust in Jesus for forgiveness for their offenses will find that the material world - though good and valuable to God (
Gen 1:31) - is still frustrated by men's offenses (
Rom 8:19-23). We work, but we face difficulties in our work.
Our work is not useless, however. The Bible presents human history as not ending in the destruction of the material universe but in the renewal and recreation of the Earth by Jesus (
Rev 21-22). The garden theme from Genesis reappears at the end of the Bible, suggesting than human beings will return to their original purpose of Genesis 1 and 2: working in the Earth for God's glory and their joy.
A Theology for Ice CreamFollowing Jesus instills our work with eternal meaning. The material world is good, and God will one day set all the universe to rights and will return to this restored Earth men and women whom he has forgiven through Jesus. We should not think that we are just going to stand around and sing contemporary Christian music for eternity. If Jesus is putting man and his relationship with the Earth back in order, don't we think it might involve gardening?
This theology drives my work at
Bruster's Ice Cream,
Chick-fil-A, and every other job in which I work. When God sets the Earth right, there will be no more missionaries or apologists. But there will still be a garden to tend to. There will be business transactions to take place. There will be houses to be constructed. There will be songs to be written. There will be food to be eaten. There will be ice cream to be made. All done to the glory of God for the joy of human beings.
If this sounds all a bit extravagant or maybe even sacrilegious, I ask you to examine yourself and see if your response does not emerge from some subconscious Platonism. The material world is good, and God made man to work. Be a man and work, and work hard. Work today as practice for eternity. If I can make ice cream that tastes incredible in this age of frustration, I can't wait to make ice cream in the age of perfection. I thank God for the pleasure of the taste of ice cream. It's my joy to rearrange the good things he made for the joy of others.
Further Resources:
