Week 1: Introduction — The Difference Work Makes
Free — no cardRead the Introduction of Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller.
Before diving into Keller's theology of work, take a moment to surface your own assumptions — what you believe work is for, and whether that belief has ever been examined in the light of the gospel.
1.Keller opens by describing the sense of profound disillusionment many professionals feel — working hard, achieving much, and yet finding their work hollow or unsatisfying. Have you experienced this feeling? What did you assume was the cause at the time?
2.Keller argues that neither a purely secular view of work (work as self-fulfillment or economic necessity) nor a truncated religious view (work as less important than 'spiritual' activities) is adequate. What view of work were you raised with, and which of these two errors, if either, did it lean toward?
3.The introduction situates the book as addressing people in a city — New York — defined by extreme ambition and overwork. Even if you don't live in a major city, how does the culture around your own workplace reflect some of these same pressures and values?