Guest Column: Pastor Tim Yee on Doing Good & Meaningful Work

Pastor Tim Yee has been serving churches for over 25 years, helping people of all ages discover their identity in Christ and their purpose to glorify God and bless others. He leads Carmel Presbyterian Church in Carmel by the Sea, CA, where he lives with his wife and two daughters.

This blog represents his opinions, interwoven with recent Barna data.

“Work is a necessary evil to be avoided.” —Mark Twain

Most of us will spend a significant portion of our lives doing some kind of work, so Twain’s advice isn’t very encouraging! Certainly the wisdom of Mark Twain can’t be the best we can offer when thinking about our work (paid and unpaid). Doesn’t God offer a higher view of how believers should approach work in all of its forms?

After 25 years of pastoring churches, the one common denominator I’ve witnessed is that we are all looking for ultimate meaning and purpose in our lives. I’ve counseled some of the poorest and most marginalized from the streets of Skid Row, as well as some of the most highly-resourced and prosperous folks too. As a pastor, I want everyone to know that no matter who you are, you are made in God’s image, meant to serve a higher cause—you have so much potential to do good when you’re rightly aligned to God’s way.

A key to a satisfying life
The Bible opens with God at work in Genesis 1 and God giving a godly mandate to Adam and Eve to join in good work in Genesis 2. From the very beginning, God points to a humanity that is made in his image and wired to do work that is good and meaningful. Whether paid or unpaid, and at every stage of life, God has placed us on this earth to reflect his image in our daily lives, and that includes some kind of work—along with good rest!

According to Barna Group, Christians who find purpose and meaning in their work are more than twice as likely to say they are “very satisfied” with their life. One of my deepest joys is to help people discover not only saving faith in Christ but also the ongoing joy of serving him until he returns. I, along with my friends at Barna, want to help you pursue deep satisfaction as you glorify God in all aspects of your life, including your work. A significant way you can do this, we believe, is to spend more time discovering and doing work that is filled with purpose and meaning.

Finding your TruCenter with TruMotivate
I created a six-week small group experience called Finding Your TruCenter that can powerfully help you walk into and live out your true calling. Using the Bible along with the TruMotivate assessment, you will have engaging discussions about how you can find a life that is both God-glorifying and deeply fulfilling as you listen to the Spirit’s leading each week. TruMotivate is a new tool that has been 60 years in the making—helping thousands of leaders of all ages discover why they do what they do and how to apply this knowledge to both their work lives and personal lives.

During a time where more Americans than ever are re-evaluating their calling as well as their career, TruMotivate and Finding Your TruCenter help people of faith connect their questions about what they should be doing in life to the context of Scripture.

God’s best for humanity is to live a God-glorifying and personally satisfying life of joyful service. As we bless others in Christ’s name aligned with how God has wired us, we will find our lives are fulfilling, meaningful and full of purpose. I hope you’ll join us as we journey together with Christ discovering our TruCenter.

—Rev. Tim Yee

Feature image by Kristin Wilson on Unsplash.