"The Word Before Work" (Jordan Raynor)

TITLE: The Word Before Work: A Monday-Through-Friday Devotional to Help You Find Eternal Purpose in Your Daily Work
AUTHOR: Jordan Raynor
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Waterbrook, 2022, (304 pages).
 

Work is very much a way of life. God ordained it thus making work a gift for mankind. Unfortunately, due to the entry of sin into the world, work has become corrupted in many dimensions, so much so that for some people, work is best described as some kind of a necessary evil. You hate it but you cannot live without it. In a stressful highly charged work environment, I have also heard working people tell me that their jobs suck. Yet, they needed the job to pay their mortgages, bills, and other essential expenses. The popular phrase, "Thank God it's Friday" describes how society views the notion of work. People look forward to the weekend as a way to escape the mundane toil of work. The question remains: Is work really a bad thing? What can we do to make work more bearable? Can work be more than mere survival? How can we redeem work? The simple answer from this book is this: Let the Word of God guide us before we commence each workday. Written like a devotional over a period of 52 work weeks, author Jordan Raynor gives us a daily reflection on Scripture followed by a short exhortation to help us embrace the day with faith and hope. The first four weeks comprise foundational material to anchor readers on the biblical narrative and purpose of work. Mondays and Thursdays contain reflections on Old Testament passages. Tuesdays and Fridays are reserved for New Testament passages. Wednesdays are filled with mid-point interjections with Wisdom Literature. The book is inspired by positive feedback from the author's popular weekly devotional "The Word Before Work." This book extends the project to cover a whole year's workweek. Each week contains devotionals from Monday to Friday. Weekends are excluded. The premise behind this book is to let our faith shine as we venture into the world of work. Not just one day per week but every day of a typical five-day workweek. 

My Thoughts
This is a great resource for helping us get a sense of God's purpose before starting the day. In a fast-paced busy society, it is tempting for people to just rush off without pondering upon why how to begin the day. People drink coffee as a habit. They eat breakfast as a routine. They take transit or drive their cars to work as a normal activity. Some Christians swear by a daily Quiet Time before they begin their day. Others do so at different times of the day, like lunchtime, break time, or even at the end of the day. Raynor does not insist that we must begin at the start of the day. In fact, the chapters are quite open for anyone to read at any time of the day. I like the way the book makes me pause to reflect upon the significance of work in the light of God's Word. The uninitiated should find this book a gift to help them in their devotional life. Older believers who already have a devotional routine like Bible reading or using some other classical devotionals can adopt this book as a supplement. Whatever it is, having this book is one thing. The discipline to use it is another. The way to benefit from this book is to actually take time to reflect on the content on a daily basis. Perhaps, after several weeks, we get a hang of the framework and would be ready to come up with our own creative devotionals. 

What I appreciate about this devotional is how the author has prepared himself to reflect not just on individual passages but on the whole Bible. He had combed the whole Bible a few times prior to the writing of this book. Readers should feel more assured that Raynor has a pretty good idea of the biblical thrusts as he looks at individual passages. While he is not a biblical theologian, his efforts would make biblical scholars proud.

Our work matters to us. They also matter to God. I loved the way Raynor entitles the book, putting the Word first prior to any forms of work. It reminds us that a good start provides a helpful impetus for the rest of the day. Of course, some might say that the chapters are too brief to really create any impact. My answer would be to see this book as a conversation partner. That way, we let the questions guide our thoughts of God so that in prayer, we can get inspired for whatever work laid before us.

Bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his books (The Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create), podcast (Mere Christians), and weekly devotional (The Word Before Work)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth. In addition to his writing, Jordan serves as the executive chairman of Threshold 360, a venture-backed tech startup which he previously ran as CEO following a string of successful ventures of his own. Jordan has twice been selected as a Google Fellow and served in the White House under President George W. Bush. A sixth-generation Floridian, Jordan lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Waterbrook and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.