Reclaiming Reality

The Meaning of Work

• Andrew Torba • Season 2 • Episode 7

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Work is undergoing a radical transformation as artificial intelligence and automation redefine labor in ways that challenge how we view human dignity and purpose. Christians must reclaim a biblical vision of work as a divine calling that glorifies God, serves others, and cultivates creation rather than merely generates income.

• Work was originally a divine commission, not a punishment
• Modern economies increasingly treat work as disposable, valuing it only for productivity
• The crisis emerges as AI displaces traditional jobs and fragments career paths
• Biblical perspective sees all labor as worship when done with the right heart
• Christians must build alternative economic structures prioritizing people over profits
• Education should equip people with real skills rather than just corporate compliance
• Technology should enhance human creativity rather than replace human dignity
• Meaningful work becomes more focused on irreplaceably human tasks like teaching, caring, and creating
• Our worth comes from bearing God's image, not from economic output
• The challenge is using AI to serve our divine calling rather than replacing it

The work that matters will always be the work machines cannot do: forgiving enemies, binding wounds, and witnessing to the kingdom where the greatest are those who serve.


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The Meaning of Work. Work has always been central to human existence. From the beginning, god created man with a purpose, commanding him to cultivate and steward creation. Work was not a punishment. It was a divine commission. Adam was placed in the garden to tend it, to bring order and beauty to the world God had made. But after the fall, work became entangled with toil, hardship and frustration. What was once a joyful calling became, in many cases, a burden. Yet even in its broken state, work remains an essential part of human dignity and purpose.

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In today's world, work is undergoing a transformation unlike anything seen before. Artificial intelligence, automation and digital economies are redefining labor, making many traditional jobs obsolete. The promise of technology is that it will liberate people from tedious work, giving them more time for leisure, creativity and self-fulfillment. But the reality is far more complex. As machines take over industries, entire segments of the workforce are being displaced, leaving millions of people without meaningful labor. The modern economy, rather than valuing work as a divine calling, treats it as a disposable function, useful only so long as it contributes to productivity and profits. The result is a crisis of identity.

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For centuries, work has been a source of purpose and structure in people's lives. It has provided not just financial security, but also a sense of contribution to society and a connection to others. But in an era where corporations are increasingly replacing workers with AI-driven systems, the value of human labor is being systematically devalued. The gig economy, remote work and digital platforms have fragmented traditional career paths, making work less stable, less personal and less connected to a broader community. This shift is not just economic. It is deeply spiritual. When work loses its meaning, people lose their sense of purpose. Many modern jobs offer little fulfillment, requiring workers to perform repetitive tasks, engage in meaningless bureaucracy or contribute to industries that offer nothing of real value. At the same time, more and more people are choosing to disengage from work altogether, seeking government assistance, universal basic income or passive digital income streams, rather than pursuing meaningful labor. This is a dangerous development because when work is seen as an unnecessary burden rather than a vital part of life, society begins to decay.

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Christians must resist this trend by reclaiming a biblical vision of work. The purpose of work is not merely to generate income. It is to glorify God, serve others and cultivate creation. The Bible teaches that all labor, when done with the right heart, is an act of worship. Paul writes in Colossians 3.23, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. This means that work is not just about survival or financial gain. It is a means of sanctification, a way to reflect the image of God as creator and sustainer.

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To rebuild a Christian approach to work, we must first reject the modern idea that work is merely a necessary evil or a means to an end. Instead, we must see it as a calling. This does not mean that every job is equally fulfilling or meaningful in itself, but it does mean that every Christian must approach work with a mindset of stewardship and excellence. Whether someone is a craftsman, a teacher, a business owner or a homemaker, their labor has eternal significance when done with integrity and purpose. At the same time, christians must be willing to build alternative economic structures that allow for meaningful, god-honoring work. The current system is designed to prioritize efficiency and profit over human well-being. Large corporations and global financial institutions increasingly dictate the terms of employment, often at the expense of local communities and family stability. Christians must break free from this model by supporting small businesses, family enterprises and local economies that prioritize people over profits.

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One of the most important ways to restore the dignity of work is to return to the concept of vocation. In previous generations, work was not seen as just a job, but as a calling, something one pursued with dedication and craftsmanship. This concept has been largely lost in the modern world, where careers are often chosen based on salary potential rather than passion or purpose. Christians must reclaim the idea that work should be meaningful, creative and in service to the common good. This also means rethinking education and job training. The current education system is designed to produce workers for the corporate economy, not independent and self-sufficient people. Schools prioritize compliance over creativity, standardization over craftsmanship. Instead of encouraging young people to pursue trades, entrepreneurship or meaningful work, they are pushed into an endless cycle of debt-based higher education that often leads to unfulfilling jobs. Christians must develop alternative education systems that equip people with real skills, from farming and craftsmanship to business and technology, so that they can contribute to their communities rather than being dependent on corporate employers or government handouts. Technology itself is not the enemy. Ai and automation can be useful tools, but they must not be allowed to replace human dignity. Christians should be at the forefront of shaping technology in a way that enhances work rather than eliminating it. This means designing systems that support human creativity rather than replacing it, building businesses that value employees rather than viewing them as disposable and ensuring that technological advancements serve the common good rather than corporate or government interests.

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The meaning of work is not found in status, salary or productivity. It is found in service to God and others. A society that no longer values work is a society that no longer values human life. This is why Christians must lead the way in restoring a culture where work is honored, where labor is meaningful and where people are encouraged to pursue excellence in whatever they do. The future of work does not have to be defined by automation, ai or corporate consolidation. It can be defined by a return to the biblical principles of vocation, stewardship and community. But this will not happen on its own. It requires Christians to take action to build businesses that honor God, to create alternative economies that provide security and independence, and to train the next generation in the skills and values that will sustain a flourishing Christian civilization.

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The modern world views work as either a means to an end or an obstacle to comfort. But for the Christian, work is a reflection of divine purpose. It is a way to create, to serve and to glorify God. In a world where the value of human labor is under attack, we must stand firm in the truth that meaningful work is not just essential to the economy, it is essential to the soul. The church must grapple with a radical question If machines assume humanity's productive roles, does work lose its meaning or does it reveal its truest form? The answer lies in distinguishing between work as toil and work as vocation. Ai excels at toil, the repetitive, efficiency-driven tasks that emerge from humanity's post-fallen struggle for survival. But vocation in the Christian sense is something deeper. It is the calling to love God and neighbor through our gifts, whether those gifts are expressed in paid employment, domestic care or acts of mercy.

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The Reformation emphasized that all labor, from farming to parenting, is a vocation when done in faith. If AI relieves us of toil, it may unmask the illusion that our worth lies in productivity, refocusing us on work's spiritual essence. The Carmelite lay brother, brother Lawrence, who found profound communion with God while washing dishes, understood this truth. In a world where machines handle dishes, factories and spreadsheets, our vocations might shift toward the irreplaceably human teaching a child, patience, comforting the grieving, or creating art that stirs the soul toward transcendence. This shift aligns with Jesus' redefinition of greatness as service Mark 10.43.

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Early Christians living under the Roman exploitation subverted the empire's cult of productivity by prioritizing communal care over wealth accumulation. The Acts Church had everything in common Acts 4.32 Ensuring no one lacked necessities a model that AI could help modern societies approximate. Through universal basic resources Freed from scarcity, work could become less about survival and more about sanctification. Imagine communities where believers spend their hours tutoring children in classical Christian education, mentoring at-risk youth or tending gardens to feed the hungry tasks no algorithm can replicate because they require the incarnational grace of presence. The Quaker concept of right livelihood captures this labor, aligned not with profit but with justice, peace and ecological stewardship. Yet this vision demands vigilance. Ai could deepen humanity's idolatry of comfort, reducing us to passive consumers. The biblical counter-narrative is the Sabbath, a day when God's people cease striving to remember their dependence on Him. If AI grants perpetual leisure, the church must recover Sabbath as a way of life, teaching believers to steward time as sacred.

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The Desert Fathers withdrew from society's busyness not to escape work but to engage in the harder labor of prayer and self-examination. Similarly, a post-work society might call Christians to the inner work of repentance, contemplation and moral formation, disciplines that shape us into vessels of Christ's love. Critically, the church must confront technology's dehumanizing potential. When Amazon warehouses monitor workers' every move or social media algorithms erode attention spans, work becomes a tool of alienation. The Christian response is to demand AI systems that honor human dignity, automating harmful jobs while protecting roles that nurture wisdom, creativity and moral agency. The Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which locates decision-making at the most local level possible, could guide this. Ai should empower nurses, teachers and artisans, not replace them.

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Ai cannot alter work's deepest meaning. To participate in God's renewal of all things, the psalmist prayed Establish the work of our hands Psalm 90, 17,. Seeking not productivity but eternal fruitfulness. When Christ fed the 5,000, he used a boy's loaves and fish a collaboration between divine power and human offering. In an age of AI, our loaves and fish might be the time, creativity and compassion freed by technology. The work that matters will still be the work that machines cannot do forgiving enemies, binding up wounds and witnessing to the kingdom where the last are first and the greatest are those who serve.

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When God commanded humanity to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it Genesis 1.28, he endowed us with a sacred vocation to cultivate creation, to unlock its potentials through art, agriculture, architecture and, yes, even technology. The plow, the printing press and the microchip all testify to this mandate. In this sense, machines are a fruition of human ingenuity, a sign of God's grace working through his image bearers. The Protestant reformer John Calvin, in his commentaries, celebrated human inventions as gifts of God's common grace, enabling societies to flourish. A windmill, a new medicine or an AI algorithm may all serve neighborly love and reflect divine wisdom embedded in creation. Yet the same verse that blesses human ingenuity also sets boundaries. To subdue the earth is to steward it, not to exploit it or ourselves. The line between cultivating and playing God emerges when technology seeks not to heal or elevate, but to redefine or replace what God calls very good Genesis 1.31.

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Machines, no matter how advanced, remain tools in human hands. They are extensions of our God-given rationality, not peers in personhood. To equate the creation of AI with the procreation of children, or to see machines as equivalent to the fruitfulness of human life, is to confuse categories. A child is a miracle of divine breath Genesis 2.7. A who with an eternal destiny. A machine is a what A artifact with no stake in the covenant between creator and creation.

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Scripture warns against conflating human achievement with divine blessing. The Tower of Babel Genesis 11, stands as an enduring parable. Its builders used cutting-edge technology, baked bricks and mortar to make a name for ourselves rather than glorify God. Their engineering prowess was real, but their ambition was fatal. Similarly, king Uzziah's military innovations, including machines designed by skillful men 2 Chronicles 26.15, becamea source of pride that led to his downfall.

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Technology is never neutral. It amplifies either our faithfulness or our rebellion. Theologically, the danger lies not in machines themselves, but in the illusion that they can fulfill humanity's ultimate purpose. The orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart cautions that transhumanism's promise of immortality through technology is a parody of eschatology, substituting the resurrection with a gospel of wires. Catholic social teaching, as articulated by Pope Francis in Laudato Si, warns against the technocratic paradigm that reduces creation to raw material for human control. Protestant thinker CS Lewis, in the Abolition of man, feared that the conquest of nature would culminate in the abolition of humanity itself, not physically but spiritually, as we lose the moral imagination that makes us human. This is not a call to reject technology, but to repent of our idolatries.

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To be fruitful in a way that honors God means creating not for the sake of dominion alone, but for the sake of love. The medieval guilds, for instance, saw their craft as a form of worship, imprinting cathedrals with stone lacework to direct gaze toward heaven. Likewise, ai could be fruitfully used to translate scripture for unreached peoples or comfort the isolated, if guided by humility. Yet the moment we view machines as successors rather than servants, we betray our vocation. The psalmist writes Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain Psalm 127.1. Our creations, no matter how brilliant, cannot fill the God-shaped void in the human heart. Machines may replicate logic, but they cannot love. They may mimic speech, but they cannot pray. They may prolong life, but they cannot redeem death. In the end, our success is measured not by our inventions, but by our obedience To be with God. While creating machines requires a heart that kneels even as it engineers, that innovates for justice, weeps over hubris and never mistakes the tool for the telos, our fruitfulness is most sacred not when we make machines in our image, but when we image forth the maker in our love.

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The unfolding narrative of work in the age of AI invites Christians to reimagine their divine calling, not as a disruption of purpose but as a clarification of it. If machines assume tasks once central to human survival, believers are freed to pursue the unforced rhythms of grace Matthew 11.30, message that characterize life in Christ. Work in this new paradigm becomes less about proving our utility and more about practicing presence, the kind of presence Jesus modeled when he interrupted his ministry to bless children. A presence Jesus modeled when he interrupted his ministry to bless children Mark 10, 13-16, or paused his journey to heal a bleeding woman Luke 8, 43-48. In a world where AI handles logistics, the church's prophetic task is to recenter labor on the relational, the redemptive and the reflective realms, where the Christ's love shines uniquely.

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The early church's radical commitment to shared resources Acts 4.32, offers a blueprint for resisting the dehumanizing potential of AI-driven economies. Rather than allowing automation to deepen disparities, christians might advocate for systems that ensure technology benefits the vulnerable. The biblical mandate to defend the rights of the poor and needy Proverbs 31.9, could inspire policies that redirect AI's profits toward education, health care and affordable housing, ensuring no one is left behind. This aligns with the Reformation's emphasis on vocation as neighbor love. Engineers designing ethical algorithms, lawmakers regulating AI for equity and workers retrained for roles requiring empathy and moral discernment all participate in God's restorative purposes.

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Practically, ai could amplify the church's capacity for compassion if wielded with wisdom. Imagine algorithms that streamline food distribution to the hungry, or machine learning that identifies communities at risk of homelessness. Yet these tools must never eclipse the irreplaceable value of embodied service. A robot might deliver a meal, but only a human can share a prayer or listen to a story. The medieval guilds, which blended technical skill with spiritual formation, offer a model here. Their artisans crafted cathedrals not merely as feats of engineering, but as acts of worship. Similarly, ai's capabilities could be harnessed to free believers for more profound works of mercy visiting prisoners, fostering reconciliation or creating art that kindles hope. At the heart of this reorientation is the biblical truth that human worth derives not from output but from bearing God's image.

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As AI assumes routine labor, christians might rediscover callings that prioritize being over, doing mentoring, conflict resolution or cultivating wonder in God's creation. The Desert Father's pursuit of contemplative inner work becomes a timely antidote to the distraction of a hyper-connected world. Likewise, the Quaker practice of communal discernment, seeking God's will together, could guide churches in using AI to foster connection rather than isolation. The ultimate challenge is one of alignment. Will AI serve humanity's God-given mandate to steward creation, or will it become a tool of self-aggrandizement? The Tower of Babel's shadow looms whenever technology seeks to make a name for ourselves Genesis 11.4, rather than glorify God. Yet the same verse that warns against hubris also affirms human ingenuity as part of creation's goodness. The line between faithful cultivation and destructive exploitation is crossed when technology treats people as inputs rather than image bearers.

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To navigate this tension, christians must return daily to repentance, turning from the idolatry of efficiency and rediscovering the slow, sacred work of love. And rediscovering the slow, sacred work of love the parable of the talents Matthew 25, 14-30, reminds us that God entrusts resources not for hoarding but for holy risk. Ai, like the talents, is a gift to invest in service of the kingdom aiding disaster response, preserving indigenous languages or democratizing education. Yet its use must always be tempered by the fear of the Lord, the wisdom that the Lord does not look at the things people look at. 1 Samuel 16.7.

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In the end, the Sabbath stands as a permanent rebuke to the myth of self-sufficiency. When believers unplug from productivity to rest in God's provision, they testify that human flourishing transcends technological mastery. The Sabbath is not a pause from work, but a reminder that our labors find meaning only when rooted in worship. As AI reshapes the world, the church's vocation remains unchanged To love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves all our heart, soul and mind. And to love our neighbors as ourselves, whether those neighbors are across the street or across a screen. Machines may replicate tasks, but they cannot replicate the divine spark that turns work into worship and toil into testimony. The Christian vision of work in the age of AI culminates not in fear but in clarity. The tools we create are meant to serve, not define, the sacred story of human vocation.

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As AI reshapes the economic landscape, the church's task is to champion a counter-narrative that resists the commodification of human worth and reclaims work as a theater of grace. This begins by recognizing that the automation of toil is not a threat to our purpose, but an invitation to rediscover it. Just as the plow once freed farmers to focus on soil stewardship rather than mere survival, ai could liberate us to prioritize the relational, spiritual and creative dimensions of labor that mirror God's own character. The biblical metaphor of the body of Christ 1 Corinthians 12, 12-27, offers a profound framework for this transition. In this body, every member's contribution matters, not because of its economic value, but because it reflects the diversity of God's gifts. When algorithms excel at data analysis, the church might invest more fully in the unseen members. Excel at data analysis, the church might invest more fully in the unseen members, those gifted in pastoral care, peacemaking or intercessory prayer. When machines, master logistics, believers can lean into the inefficiencies of listening, lamenting and lingering with the marginalized. This is not a retreat from progress, but a return to the essence of what it means to be human to love as we have been loved, to create as we have been created and to steward as we have been entrusted.

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Critically, this vision demands that Christians model alternatives to the AI-driven obsession with speed and scale. The slow, patient work of discipleship—raising children, rebuilding marriages, restoring communities becomes a prophetic witness in a world fixated on instant results. Here, the ancient monastic rhythm of ora et labora, pray and work finds fresh relevance. Work becomes a prayer when offered to God and prayer becomes work when it fuels our labor. A community that gardens together, tutors neighborhood youth or builds affordable housing with hands and hearts, not just 3D printers, testifies to a different measure of success faithfulness over fame, longevity over virality. The path forward hinges on discernment.

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Technology, like all human endeavors, is subject to the curse of Genesis 3, capable of both healing and harming. Christians must therefore engage AI with a dual commitment to innovate boldly for the common good and to resist fiercely any system that reduces persons to data points. This requires not only ethical frameworks, but embodied practices. Churches might host forums on AI ethics, train members in digital literacy or partner with tech professionals to develop tools that prioritize human flourishing. Parents might catechize children in the difference between using devices and being formed by them, teaching them to code with integrity and consume with wisdom. In the end, the Christian's response to AI is the same as it has always been to every cultural shift to seek first the kingdom. The machines we build, like the fields we plow or the art we paint, are not eternal, but the love we pour into our neighbors and the beauty we create for God's glory. These ripple into eternity.

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As the world races to automate everything automatable, the church must stand as a signpost to do the one thing that cannot be outsourced the call to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, colossians 3.17. When our tools are handed back to dust, this alone will remain the work of love wrought in us by the Spirit for the sake of the world Christ died to redeem. As AI accelerates the collapse of work as a primary source of meaning, the church must step into the void, not to offer more productivity hacks, but to reclaim ancient practices that affirm human dignity outside of economic utility. This means recovering Sabbath as an act of defiance against the cult of busyness, a holy rebellion in a world obsessed with perpetual optimization. The cult of busyness a holy rebellion in a world obsessed with perpetual optimization. It requires rediscovering the Eucharist as an act of resistance, reminding us that life is a gift, not an achievement, and that we are nourished not by efficiency but by grace. It also calls for the revival of monastic rhythms as an alternative operating system, where the world glorifies speed and endless engagement, but the church teaches prayer, contemplation and silence as a way to recover what it means to be human. Our churches must become sanctuaries of stillness, training grounds where people learn to exist without constant stimulation and rediscover boredom as the gateway to wonder.

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The rise of AI does more than disrupt industries. It shatters modernity's foundational myth that human value is measured by economic output. For too long, western society has equated identity with employment, reducing human beings to cogs in a productivity machine. The Industrial Revolution cemented this lie, divorcing work from craftsmanship and tying self-worth to wages and titles. Capitalism, for all its benefits, amplified the distortion, teaching generations to introduce themselves as I am a teacher or I am an engineer rather than I am a Christian. However, ai, by automating both blue-collar labor and white-collar analysis reveals the fragility of this framework. Both blue-collar labor and white-collar analysis reveals the fragility of this framework. When algorithms outperform doctors in diagnostics, compose symphonies and draft legal contracts, the question becomes unavoidable If machines can do what we do, who are we when we don't do anything?

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Scripture has always rejected the reduction of humanity to mere economic utility. Genesis 1 declares that humans are image-bearers of God, an identity rooted not in utility but in divine reflection. The fall twisted work into toil, but Christ's redemption restores its purpose to cultivate beauty, serve neighbors and glorify God. Yet modernity doubled down on the curse, convincing billions that their worth rises and falls with job titles, promotions or paychecks. Ai, in displacing these markers, forces a reckoning. It exposes the emptiness of a system that treats people as human resources, a term revealing in its dehumanizing calculus. When jobs vanish, so do the identities built on them, leaving a void that consumerism, entertainment and politics cannot fill. The church must offer a better answer. Psalm 139 declares that humans are fearfully and wonderfully made, not for data entry or truck driving, but for eternal relationship with God.

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Andrew Torba

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