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Sadly, in our culture, we have sometimes made people who work with their hands second-class citizens.

We had our house completely redone a few years back after water damage. I watched carpenters, stonemasons, plumbers, and electricians do their thing. None of them had probably read Shakespeare, but make no mistake about it, they were intelligent and skillful in their craft. I have a master’s degree in education, but I went away from this experience a little envious that I don’t have some of those skills.

We often confuse function and value. With God, we do not derive our value from what we do. Our value is intrinsic because we are made in God’s image and bought with a price. Although using our gifts and skills fulfills us, doing so does not add anything to our God-given value. We do not get value from our work; we bring value to it because we are valuable.

The spirit of this world tries to divide us into haves and have-nots. Taking the initiative for education or training is good, but one size does not fit all. As Christians, we must stop adopting the world’s opinion about what is valuable and what is not. The answer is the message of the Cross. The land is all level there. There are no big or little people, whether we are a CEO or a laborer. We are all sinners in need of grace.

God gives different types of wisdom and intelligence, as seen with Bezalel. Whatever you do, sacred or secular, do it for the Lord.  When you go to work, remember you are a person of value, gifted and called by God. Everything you do is an act of worship to God.