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10 Lutheran Life CARING FOR This common get-to-know-you question helps break the ice when meeting a new person. It's often meant to lead into a conversation about work and employment. "I've been a grade-school teacher for 15 years. And you?" "I'm an electrical engineer." Learning about someone's work gives us the first glimpse into who they are. Did you know that God cares about your work? And not just church work but ALL work. It's a part of God's original design for humans. In Genesis, we read, So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." GENESIS 1:2728 Being created in God's image includes being created to work, even as God is at work in creating the world. In this passage, God gives Adam and Eve direction regarding their relationship with the rest of creation. Humans are to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over every other living thing on the earth. In other words, humans are created to work! Even more, this command was given before the fall into sin. Work is a part of God's perfect design for creation and part of how humans are to live life. It can be hard to imagine work before the fall— before the ground was cursed and work was met with thorns, thistles, and toil (Genesis 3:17–19). Our relationship with work isn't always one of great fulfillment and unity with creation. Sometimes, it can seem boring or mundane. Wherever we find ourselves in relation to others, there is purpose-filled, life-giving, vocational work to do. I can guarantee you that there are co-workers around you who are desperate for the love of God you possess. There's a lonely person looking for meaningful connection. There's a spouse who needs accountability to remain faithful to his or her wedding vows. There's a parent who needs encouragement to be more present at home with her family. There's a boss who needs the reminder his self-worth isn't based on the amount of revenue his team generates. The workplace is rife with vocational opportunities to care for the people you come in contact with. Projects and deadlines will come and go, but the people and relationships remain. How can you reorient your view of the workplace to prioritize your interactions "So what do you do?"

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