11 Jun Venn Presents | The Good of Work, Part Two

Work is a key aspect of human flourishing. Indeed, as we explored in our first episode in this series, ‘The Good of Work,’ it is part of our vocation as human beings. But to only speak of the goodness of work is to neglect some of our more pressing questions.

Even when we understand God’s intentions for work, many of us experience it as difficult; at times, it is futile or senseless. Whether we’re confronting the way elite sport misshapes identity, or the often emotionally and physically taxing toil of tertiary studies, we all have encountered sin and brokenness within our work places. As Olivia Burne puts it in her recent Common Ground article, work is “a gathering point for some of our deepest pains and longings, and the makeshift altar of many of our false gods.

We find ourselves wondering, what has gone wrong with our work?

In part two of our Good of Work series, Olivia Burne and Dr Nathan McLellan join Sam Bloore to discuss how the fall has marred and shaped our work. Looking to the first scriptural example of collective work at the tower of Babel, Olivia and Nathan explore some of the ways the fall has influenced our labour in the world: through the shaping of our identity, through work becoming a type of idolatry, and through the oppression and injustice that can flow out from our organisational systems.

Join us for this latest episode, as we seek to understand the Good of Work in light of fallen reality. You can listen on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. In the next episode, which will be released mid-July, we’ll be looking to Christ’s redemption of the world, and how this can offer hope and form our understanding of work and labour. Be sure to subscribe to Venn Presents to get the latest episodes!

Arohanui,
The Venn team