Seeking the Good of Others through our Profession

When we ask God to “give us this day our daily bread”, we really don’t expect Him to reach down to us from heaven and hand us a loaf of bread.

But we do know that God provides for our needs. And He uses a lot of people to do so. He helps the farmer to sow the seeds, grow the wheat, and harvest the grains. He helps a driver transport the grains to a milling station. He helps the miller turn the grains into flour. He helps the baker make bread. He helps the deliver person to bring the bread safely to our homes.

And behind all these “direct actors”, God uses entrepreneurs who find the business model that works, the bankers who provide capital, the scientists who find the healthiest way to transport and process ingredients - and many many more.

Chances are, most of the people God uses to send us our daily bread are not even aware that they are part of His logistics chain. They think they are just going about their daily business, earning a living. But the truth is, God uses us and our work all the time to accomplish His good plans - in this particular case, making sure we get healthy, tasty bread.

Which makes me think, how is God using my work for the good of other people, many of whom I probably will never meet or know? Whoever they are, I hope they are happy with the work that I’m doing, or my contribution to the service or product that they are getting.

Knowing that God is using my work in ways I do not know inspires me to do it more earnestly. To refine my craft. To give my best. To work “as for God, not for man”. And to dedicate my craft and my outputs, as Tavares says, to “folks I never will meet”.

How can we do our work better, knowing that God is using us for the good of somebody else?