A Few Personal Words in Advance
Before I truly came to know our LORD and Redeemer and confessed myself to Him, I went to work with little motivation and mostly just wanted to be left alone. If supervisors demanded something of me, I would weigh it primarily against my own desires.
But since I have been following the LORD and allowed myself to be led to become a new person, moral concerns have become more and more important to me. For example, I dropped out of further education when we were taught:
“In the economy, there is no morality.”
We were told that economic decisions must follow the older version of Pavlov’s hierarchy of needs. That was the final point that led me to drop out.
Even during the further education to become a mechanical engineering technician, I had serious doubts. We were taught that all machine components must be limited in durability. Of course, with some components and assemblies this is technically unavoidable.
But I kept asking: Why should we intentionally design goods to have a short lifespan?
The answer was always the same: “So that the economic cycle functions.”
Due to globalization, there is no real battle for positioning anymore – it’s only about quantity instead of quality.
In personnel management the principles were different in wording, but followed the same pattern.
We were told informally:
If employees have addiction problems, let it be. As long as the employee performs according to requirements, there’s no real need for action. If something escalates, we can claim ignorance or recommend therapy.
Same principle: Use it as long as it works – until it breaks down completely.
Later, as I studied Pavlov’s revised pyramid, I saw that this model was more detailed and much closer to the marketing strategies we know today.
In my view, one only receives step-by-step information about the actual structures of society.
In training: “The employer is responsible for your health.”
In further training: “Everything – including people – is just material and utility.”
At management level: “See nothing. Hear nothing. Say nothing.”
In the worst case: “Plausible deniability.”
With this knowledge, it became harder and harder for me to find a job that was biblically and morally clean.
Today I apply two core standards:
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31)
“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay.” (Matthew 5:37)
If I notice that an employer tries to make me act against these rules, I quit – even in the middle of a shift, without regard for consequences.
Not immediately, of course. Usually it takes repeated violations before I even realize it. But I am so firmly willing to follow the LORD that I do not hesitate.
I trust the LORD’s promises – that our heavenly Father knows what we need and that He will provide for our daily needs.
Until today, I have never gone hungry or lacked anything.
My experience confirms my faith. And that encourages me to remain steadfast.
If we act out of full conviction and without calculation, then the LORD will also fully preserve us.
đź› Work Is More Than Earning Money
Before we talk about income, we must ask: What is work, really?
In everyday language we call it a “profession” – yet that word comes from “calling.”
But how many today truly feel called to what they do?
Most people learn a job or do some task just to make money. But Scripture asks:
Who has called you?
The LORD, our God?
Money, ego, or even the adversary?
Not every form of work is evil, but not every one is God’s will either. And yet: Every modern form of income is already found in the Bible.
🔍 Biblical Categories of Income
Scripture knows both self-employed and dependent employment – just like today.
🧺 1. Self-Employed (Independent Responsibility)
Biblical examples:
Merchants (Proverbs 31:24)
Tentmaker like Paul (Acts 18:3)
These people decide and act independently – they answer only to the LORD.
🎓 2. Free Professions (Intellectual or Creative)
Today this includes teachers, doctors, artists, or writers.
Biblical examples:
Luke, the physician (Colossians 4:14)
Jesus, the carpenter (Mark 6:3)
Rabbi-teachers like Nicodemus (John 3:2)
These require skill or knowledge, but are not spiritually free by definition.
🧱 3. Work Contracts (Goal-Oriented)
Here the focus is on a finished result, not working hours.
Biblical examples:
Peter, the fisherman (John 21:3)
Rahab, the harlot (Joshua 2)
David, the shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11)
There is some freedom here – but also insecurity.
🧑‍🔧 4. Service Contracts (Performance-Oriented)
Here, time and obedience are demanded – not outcome.
Biblical examples:
Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 1)
Daniel at the royal court (Daniel 1:19)
Roman soldiers (Luke 3:14)
This is clearly servanthood – and in some cases: slavery.
“And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt […] therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
(Deuteronomy 5:15 – KJV1611)
🤝 Servants, Slaves and the Dependent
Scripture distinguishes between:
Servants – economically dependent
Slaves – fully subjected
“And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master […] I will not go out free.” (Exodus 21:5)
“For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” (2 Peter 2:19)
Whoever has no freedom to decide what, when, or why they work – is a servant or slave in biblical terms.
Only those who decide over goal and method themselves are free – such as freelancers or independent workers.
🧠More Important Than How Is For Whom
The Bible does not condemn work forms as such. What matters is:
How you work
Whom you serve
Whether you remain faithful to God
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
(Colossians 3:17 – KJV1611)
âť— Warning: Unrighteous Income
📦 Retail & Wholesale
Often focused solely on profit. Products are overhyped, customers misled, prices manipulated.
Those who take part are lying – even if just working the cash register.
đź’Ľ Temp Work & Staffing Agencies
From a biblical standpoint, these companies are modern human traffickers.
They profit from reselling human labor.
Man becomes a commodity – not the image of God.
“That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes.”
(Amos 8:6 – KJV1611)
This is no exaggeration. These companies unite the worst of:
Greedy merchants
Oppressive masters
And sell it as “opportunity.”
đź“Ś Conclusion
It is not merely about the type of work.
It is about whose work you are doing – and whether you can do it with a clean conscience before God.
“No man can serve two masters […] Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
(Matthew 6:24 – KJV1611)
âś‹ Be Aware Whom You Serve
How do you earn your income?
Do you work honestly, justly, and with a joyful heart – as unto the LORD?
Or do you merely try to get by – sacrificing truth, love, and faith?
👉 Examine yourself.
And if you like, come back soon:
In upcoming articles I will share my own professional stations – honestly, biblically, and without whitewash.
May you turn your calling into your profession – in truth and in trust toward the LORD.
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