"Idolatry" by any other name.

I’m still reading Eugene Peterson’s “Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places” (p 116-129) where he has the audacity to name workaholism as “idolatry”.

“Without Sabbath. . .the workplace is soon emptied of any sense of the presence of God and the work becomes an end in itself, …a breeding ground for idols” as we “reduce work to the dimensions of ego and control.” p. 116

The wonder that is associated with creation and resurrection and worship has no place in the world of work, even in a Christian organization if we are not careful. 

Gradually the sense of wonder is squeezed out of us, as we gain competence and mastery over ourselves. This greatest in the workplace where information and competence are key values. (p. 122)
KSA’s anyone? (Knowledge, skills, attitudes). It’s time to prepare the report on Key Indicators of Progress to our Ends. Where are our 3-year goals? Sure, we pray at the meetings where we put those things together, but . . . 

Peterson emphasizes that at work, there is a subtle shift from the primacy of God and his work in our lives to the primacy of our work for God. We no longer worship God but enlist Him to assist us in “the work”. This is idolatry: using God instead of worshipping Him (p. 124)

Recently I have been getting feedback from close friends and colleagues, and people keep coming back to the fact that I am competent at what I do.

•“You are above all, competent, again. Your high ‘C’ (conscientious nature) kicking in. You wouldn’t know who you are if you weren’t competent.”
•“We were just saying the other day that Tim can get more done in one day than most of us can in a week.”

Pluh-ease, people, il ne faut pas exagérer.  But seriously, if you are highly competent, then you don’t need to depend on God. Ouch!

What is the cure for workplace idolatry? Peterson says it is Sabbath keeping – it provides a detachment from the workplace, from the world’s way of doing things, from our compulsion to take things into our own hands. Or as Petersen puts it ‘a weekly housecleaning’ that allows us to enter the week “uncluttered with idols”. p. 128.

I was thinking on all this and reviewing memory verses and came across this one:
2 Corinthians 3:3-6 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, bur our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.”

Wait a minute! This is PAUL we are talking about here. And he claims not to be competent. Wasn't he a Pharisee trained under Gamaliel at his rabbinical school. He had clout in the Jewish scene before his conversion. He was a gifted writer for sure. Perhaps not so convincing a speaker in person, as he mentions in one of his letters, but still he had to have had human competencies.

Still he plays these down and opts for competence that comes from God. And that makes all the difference: human competence is compared to the letter of the law and it KILLS.

Godly competence comes from the Spirit and gives LIFE presumably to those ministered to, but also to the one serving as a conduit.

Lord, help us to slay our workplace idols and live in your competence.