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Grace at Work: Redeeming the Grind and the Glory of Your Job

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A Biblical View of Work in Light of the Gospel  For many people, their job is merely “the daily grind” needed to provide for family or pay the bills. Yet our work is a vital means for fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives and displaying his grace to those around us. We bear God’s image in our workplaces, experiencing his blessings and expressing his nature through our efforts, integrity, creativity, generosity, and excellence. No earthly chore is without the opportunity to observe his divine hand. No challenge in task or relationship is without opportunity to represent God’s heart.  In this book, author and pastor Bryan Chapell shares this biblical perspective of vocation, explaining how God gives purpose to our work by making it an instrument of his grace to our own hearts, as well as a way of bringing his goodness and glory into our world. Chapell explains how we can worship God by our work, rising above drudgery, duty, or self-interest with the understanding that our jobs are unique callings for displaying God’s character and care. Our work is worship when we see the glory beyond the grind, the mission in the mundane, and the grace at work. 

233 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2022

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376 people want to read

About the author

Bryan Chapell

64 books86 followers
Bryan Chapell is the president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America. He began teaching at Covenant in 1984 after ten years in pastoral ministry. Chapell has a BSJ from Northwestern University, an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a PhD in speech communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Before becoming president in 1994, he served for six years as vice president for academics and dean of faculty. He is a speaker in churches and conferences around the country, preaching and lecturing on topics including grace, marriage, and journalism. Chapell's online broadcast ministry, Living Christ 360, contains additional resources in his areas of expertise.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Isaiah Harris.
52 reviews1 follower
September 6, 2025
For having been a very eventful Summer in terms of starting a new job, this book helped remind me of right, biblical perspectives when it comes to work. It ranged from integrity in the workplace, viewing others as made in the image of God, personal finance, Christlike leadership, and being a witness for the Kingdom of God wherever we are. I could see myself reading this again someday.
Profile Image for Jessica Simek.
63 reviews
August 28, 2024
Reading this in the midst of a difficult job situation has been such an encouragement. Victory in our jobs does not looks like accolades or achievements but faithfulness to the Lord and where he has called us. We may not be in a job we like or want, but he has placed us there for a purpose!
Profile Image for Patrick S..
486 reviews29 followers
October 16, 2022
What Chapell does here is something I have been enjoying Christian authors doing more these day - the talk is about taking the normal, everyday things as service to God. This is the "redeeming" part of the book. Chapell covers a whole array of different aspects of work: dignity, purpose, integrity, money, success, humility, glory, evil, leadership, balance, and witness. This isn't self-help slapped onto Jesus, this is looking at different aspects of work through the lens of a Christian world.

I believe God exists and He operates in the world and through His people. The part of Ephesians 2:8-9 that people sometimes forget is verse 10. What are we saved by grace through faith for? V.10 for good works prepared for us in advance. And your daily work is exactly where you can find a plethora of "good works". It is how we evidence our faith to the world. Jesus doesn't tell us to divorce ourselves from the world but to live out our lives in His name and our job is to search the Scriptures in how to do this in the best way possible. That is the role of Chapell's book.

There are some good parts Chapell covers really well. The chapter on "humility" had a portion where he covered Jesus as King, priest, and prophet. At first, it didn't make much sense but he comes in towards the end of the chapter and applies that section to us and our work. That was a nice surprise. He also covers the straightforward parts well like "integrity" where we understand the Christian should live so drastically different from the world that they take notice just for seeing us in our work. A tall order but one we should desire. He also provides a lot of everyday examples and antidotes to prove his point or show its antithesis.

One of the areas that I wish Chapell could have focused on more was some of the hard cases. This is not to say that the book is devoid of that. He tells of a story of an investor who refused to take profit from setting up others on his team to make money on a business that he didn't agree with as a Christian. Chapell doesn't always go out of his way to talk about these hard cases and suggestions from Scripture of what to do in general. However, the purpose of the book is to give a redemption story to work but it would still be useful to highlight a few more areas where the grey wants to encroach into our work lives. Or one of the subjects I really wanted Chapell to cover was failing at work or failing in business or failing to succeed. We need to have ways of encouraging failure as not a complete end but even failure can be redeemed.

I would recommend this book for those who are struggling with work as a Christian or who are facing non-Christian resistance at work. Some might view this as middle-of-the-road Christian Living reading and it could be if you're not serious about taking what you read that is based on God's Work into the areas of your life where Jesus rules. And as Christians, we should find those dark areas of our lives and shine the light of Christ on them as we recognize that Jesus is Lord of all - including our work. Final Grace - B+
Profile Image for Mark.
59 reviews
January 15, 2024
I really enjoyed this book and Bryan Chapell’s perspective on work and how we are to approach it as Christians.

My only real critique is quite minor—there’s no real conclusion. It would have been nice to have a short concluding chapter to put a bow on everything, but it just sort of ends abruptly with his last chapter/topic.
Profile Image for Meagan | The Chapter House.
2,053 reviews49 followers
July 6, 2022
This was a refreshing read on multiple levels!

I've struggled lately to find books addressed explicitly toward Christians in the secular workplace, often finding more for those in ministry--or secular books with a "feel-good" nod to biblical principles that don't sufficiently flesh it out, or end up having questionable exegesis altogether. Enter this book, a welcome addition to the likes of Tod Bolsinger's Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change.

Chapell does a great job at reminding the reader that work for the glory of God will not always be "glamorous" according to the world's standards--but by God's standards, we can still work for His glory and shine His light ... something much more significant (on all levels) and long-lasting. In a world that tells us to "do you" and pursue our own preferences/desires, Chapell calls us back to verses such as Col. 3:23 and notes that "There's a higher priority than you in the workplace" (eARC loc. 594).

I've been reading a fair few books targeting self-care lately, and this one does wonders at addressing the topic as it relates to our careers, vocations, and working for God's glory. An excellent resource.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Dr. David Steele.
Author 8 books270 followers
July 24, 2022
Grace at Work: Redeeming the Grind & the Glory of Your Job by Bryan Chapell is a deeply encouraging book that addresses the topic of vocation. Chapell draws on Scripture to help readers understand the redemptive purposes of work.

Every person is created in the imago Dei. Therefore, God’s creation possesses dignity and worth in his eyes. This reality causes them to flourish and provides the necessary biblical context for work.

With the foundation in place, Chapell focuses his attention on a host of subjects including integrity, money, success, leadership, and many others. Each topic assumes the dignity of the creature and enables them to approach work with God-centered resolve.

The author summarizes his excellent work:

Throughout this book, I have emphasized that every place we work is holy ground and that we have a vocation, a calling, to represent our Savior in the workplace. Our vocation is where we exercise our profession - both in terms of our training and our testimony.


Grace at Work is a powerful little book that reorients the mindset of Christians and reshapes their hearts in a way that honors God and puts the gospel on display.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
Profile Image for Linda Galella.
1,057 reviews105 followers
August 1, 2022
A biblical look at work and recognizing the purpose, contentment and joy in God’s grace to us and how we share it thru our work.

I’ve been retired for a very long time due to a variety of medical issues but that doesn’t mean I have stopped working. According to the book of Exodus, we have been ordered to labor for 6 days and rest for one, as a consequence for the sins of man in the Garden of Eden.

Every society has their own rendition of what work looks like but as Christians, we are called to follow God in our working as in everything else we do. “Grace at Work” is an easy to understand and apply to your life discussion about work, what God’s example is, how he provides daily and how we can bring his grace and HIM to work, no matter what or where that is, on a daily basis.

Important topics include things like: Dignity, Integrity, Humility, Leadership, Balance & Witness. There are more but these were my favorites. Whether you’re a teacher, doctor, customer service representative, dog walker or ANYTHING else, these principles will apply to your experience because God’s grace has redeemed your life.

All things considered, a must read for any working aged Christian📚
1,691 reviews
August 11, 2022
Bryan Chapell does well with this topic. Rock solid all the way through. Unspectacular, but thoroughly biblical and convicting. I'm always leery of works with "Redeeming . . ." in the title/subtitle, but thankfully he doesn't run amok (and who knows, maybe the publisher labeled it, not he). These were originally sermons, and it shows--but Chapell is such an exceptional preacher that I didn't really mind. It is repetitive here and there, and sometimes meanders a bit far from the workplace, but it is well worth the journey.
Profile Image for Sydney W.
15 reviews
April 16, 2025
I read this book with my small group and it was great! Lots of helpful ideas about navigating work and careers as a Christian. Some ideas were new and let me reflect on my own perspectives and some ideas were ones I had heard before, but this book reinforced them. The author also presented his ideas in a way that was easy to grasp.
Profile Image for kaitlyn osborn.
93 reviews
March 8, 2023
Definitely worthy of a future re-read. This book has given me a lot to think about regarding not only my day-to-work, but also things like humility, money, success/failure, & balance (sabbath). Highly recommend to any believer who is wondering how to define a theology of work.
Profile Image for Myles Southern.
41 reviews2 followers
December 29, 2022
Good read. Easy to digest, and I appreciated the structure. It was certainly an encouragement for daily faithfulness in the workplace. I do probably enjoy his preaching more than writing.
Profile Image for Conrade Yap.
376 reviews9 followers
September 14, 2022
Our work matters to God. In fact, the kinds of work we do are also opportunities for us to glorify God and to make His Glory known. The end of a Church service should mark the beginning of our service out in the world. Yet, how many believers actually know that or practice that? Sadly, very few. Worship is connected to our vocation. Our vocation is an act of worship. It is not limited to simply a Sunday worship service. Just like the popular song "Consuming Fire" by Tim Hughes, worship must be something more than Sunday worship. Author Bryan Chapell helps us by giving us a resource to enable us to see our jobs as opportunities to worship God. With many of us intensely immersed in our respective jobs and responsibilities, we need to learn how to take our faith to work. We need to adopt a grace mindset when performing our jobs. He looks at grace at work from ten angles. He begins with dignity and the dignity of the work set out for us. Our work has inherent meaning and significance, and our participation should enhance that dignity as well. Just like how God had created the world and called it good, we need to look at the world we live in and acknowledge its inherent goodness. We are also reminded not to base our own personal worth on the work we do. With sin having tarnished the world, work has also been tarnished and it is via God's redemptive work that has made all things new. Through purposeful living and thoughtfulness, we can rearm ourselves with the purposes of God to reflect Christ's purpose. We learn about the significance of work when we see how we can make a difference. When we are driven by gratitude, we will be creative to find ways to make our work meaningful. At the same time, knowing the purpose of our work also means rejecting those careers that are detrimental to the well-being of people, such as gambling. Then there is integrity which needs to be the way we approach our work. Using the example of the North Korean prisoner, Bae, Chapell shows us how even in the most difficult situations, one can still work with integrity even when it means suffering for Christ. Work also entails our views about money. He highlights three purposes of money to help us provide for mercy, family, and ministry. Then there is the subject of success, something that the world constantly craves. This needs to be connected to our goals. The world deems success as primarily profiting the self. For Christians, success is primarily about honouring and glorifying God. This is a key difference to remember. Along with success, we need to be careful of the presence of pride. This calls for humility. On humility, we are reminded that the attitude we bring to our work must be clothed with the humility of Christ. We can have all the success in the world but without humility, we end up like King Nebuchadnezzar who was humbled when he failed to acknowledge the true giver of all success. From a lowly point of humility, we can then look toward the glory of God. We are reminded that we have been "made for glory," to reflect the character of God. We can tell our co-workers that we work not just for money but for the good of mankind and for the glory of God. Chapell gives several examples of how that could happen for battery manufacturers, politicians, salespersons, medical professionals, moms, and even bricklayers. Then there is the subject of evil to remind us of the challenges of working in this world. For Chapell, this chapter is the hardest to write because one is forced to face the realities of this world. When we acknowledge the presence of evil, we will not be too distressed when things do not work out as planned. This calls for Leadership, which is a mindset that puts the interest of others above self. In desiring to make work meaningful to God, it is also a way for us to enable others also to honour God with their good works. In a world where people seek power in order to get ahead, grace in leadership is about servanthood. It is about loving our neighbors. It is about reflecting God's leadership in all we think, say, and do. On balance, we learn about the importance of maintaining a balanced life. Many families have struggled with spending time appropriately at work as well as at home. Taking time to work and to refrain from work is essentially a step of faith. Finally, Chapell highlights the importance of witnessing as a way to manifest our calling to be salt and light of the world.

My Thoughts
==============
This book gives us multiple angles to understand what it means to exercise grace at work. From a personal calling to a wider circle of engaging others, we can all do our part in building bridges between God and the world at large. Chapell gives us ten wonderful descriptions of grace at the workplace. Using biblical references and real-life examples, readers can gain a better sense of what it means to live for God in the workplace. I am happy to see that the author begins with the inner self. This is indeed where it all should begin. By helping us to think through and reflect on what it means to see God's world through the angles of dignity, purpose, and integrity, we learn that before we can do meaningful work, we need to understand our meaningful self. We need to know our calling before rushing into any kind of work. Otherwise, we would quickly run out of steam wondering why we are doing what we are doing. By helping us to strengthen the inner core, we are better able to move forward to the world of work.

Why should anyone read this book? The reason is that work is such a major part of our lives. Regardless of whether it is paid or unpaid, work is ordained by God. We do not need to be in Full-Time ministry before we can serve God well. We are called to do all the good we can whatever we do, wherever we are, and howsoever we can. Being mindful of God's calling is something we all need to train our minds toward. This book does not just equip us to do that. It inspires us. At the same time, Chapell does not shy away from dealing with the fallen world. The best intentions sometimes do not lead to the right kinds of results we want. This is to be expected especially in a fallen world where evil is present. We need God's grace and the more challenges we encounter in life, the more we appreciate the significance of grace. This is quite paradoxical. Truth is often paradoxical, as shown by the Lord Jesus when he was teaching the beatitudes.

I recommend this book for all readers, especially those who are fresh out of school. I remember when I graduated, the book "Your Work Matters to God" by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks was particularly helpful. Since then, many more books have been published to encourage people to exercise faith in the marketplace. This book is a worthy resource to be added to the library.
Bryan Chapell is a bestselling author of many books, including Christ-Centered Preaching and Holiness by Grace. He is pastor emeritus of the historic Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois; president emeritus of Covenant Theological Seminary; and president of Unlimited Grace Media (unlimitedgrace.com), which broadcasts daily messages of gospel hope in many nations.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
Profile Image for Bill Pence.
Author 2 books1,039 followers
July 22, 2022
This book was based on a sermon series delivered by the author at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois, when he served as Senior Pastor. The book is designed to help us understand and more fully experience personal dignity and divine purpose in the varied jobs that we do to serve God and all that he loves. The author tells us that when we realize that every honest job exists on the holy ground of God’s calling, then we will rejoice in the mission we have at work. The author writes that Sunday is for Monday, and we are called by God to do his work not just in worship but in the workplace.
In this book, he emphasizes that our work is a holy calling where we honor Christ in everything we do – whether it’s a business meeting, an important project, or even a phone conversation. We bear the name of Christ and have obligations to reflect his character in the workplace.
The author writes that God’s people are being called to his mission not just in Sunday worship, but in the everyday workplace. God calls us to use the work skills, talents, and resources that he provides for extending the influence of the kingdom of God into every dimension of our lives and world. In the skills we express, in the products we make, in the way we work, in the impact of our labors on society and on the relationships affected by our work, we are instruments of God’s redeeming work in a broken world.
Among the topics that the book touches on are dignity, purpose, integrity, money, mercy, success, glory, humility, evil, leadership, forgiveness, balance, rest, and witness. Below are 25 of my favorite quotes from the book:
• Ultimately, we do not serve a company or a boss or even our family’s needs, but our Lord, who smiles upon our labors, values our sweat, and dries our tears with the grace of knowing he will use every effort that honors him.
• Your work is your mission field, and because of that, there is a God-given dignity in what you do.
• When we begin to recognize that work is not evil but is actually something that gives our days purpose and our lives a sense of worth, then we begin to view our labor in a very different way.
• Work gives us dignity, because work itself is dignified.
• When we begin to understand God’s perspective on work, then we realize that it is actually a form of worship.
• God requires us to represent him with integrity, giving our energies and resources to the job we were hired to do (Col. 3:23).
• When we begin to see that there’s dignity in every vocation, we realize that every job has a purpose of serving others and bringing glory to God.
• When we use God’s gifts in the calling he gives us, we fulfill his purposes.
• Each Christian should be willing to ask, “Can I stamp Christ’s name on this product? Can I take Jesus with me on this job?”
• No matter how challenging or mundane our duties, our job is holy before God because it is contributing to the world he is building for his own purposes.
• You can be in an undesirable job and still do God’s work, because you’re not serving men but the Lord.
• God is calling you to a profession. His name is on you. Profess him in all you do. Honor him, and he will use your work for his purposes.
• The reason we know that our work honors God is that we who do it are made in the image of God. Because God so dignifies us, the work of our hands has dignity.
• If your goal is to bear Christ’s name in the workplace, as well as into the world, then you recognize that the measure of your success is how well you have magnified the name of Jesus.
• We are to take the features of his glory to every place we inhabit and to every job we do. As we express his character and care, our work pushes back the darkness of a fallen world and brings the glory of God to light.
• Our work is not so much ennobled by the tasks we do or the skills we exercise, as by the purpose God accomplishes through us.
• The world may not recognize the significance of our labors, but believers have the assurance that our jobs matter to God and make a difference in the lives of those he loves.
• Christ is present in us as we work, he is present with us as we work, and he is made present to others by our work.
• Not only missionaries and preachers, but all who labor with the intention to honor God through their business, skills, sweat, politics, creativity, and conduct are participating in the mission of God
• Each believer’s occupation and tasks are significant not because they receive the recognition and reward of the world but because we engage in them with a divine commission to glorify God through them.
• The true glory of many jobs is being faithful to God in them, despite the misery of them.
• A biblical leader is someone who uses God’s gifts to champion God’s cause regardless of personal costs or challenging circumstances.
• Biblical leadership exists for the benefit of others and requires understanding that God intends for leaders to be an instrument of his blessing in others’ lives.
• If my business decisions allow no time for counsel from God’s word or a Christian friend, then I am being ruled by a schedule that has put God on the sidelines of my life.
• Work is worship. If we work with diligence and care, our jobs glorify God.
29 reviews
December 2, 2025
Grace At Work, a book by Bryan Chapell, “is designed to help us understand and more fully experience personal dignity and divine purpose in the varied jobs that we do to serve God and all that he loves.” Chapell explains that Christians often assume that their jobs in the secular workplace are not inherently important but only significant as a means to an end: the secular work of a Christian earns sustenance for his family, and enables him to provide financial support for the missions of the church. The important work, however, is that done by pastors, missionaries, and church staff.

Chapell intends to break down this unbiblical division between secular and Christian work. He distinguishes between occupation, “which is how we earn a living to fulfill our needs and desires,” and vocation, which is the mission that “God has called us to do.”

The Christian’s occupation is his vocation. Since man is created in the image of God, and was commissioned with stewardship of the world even before the fall, there is dignity, purpose and integrity in his everyday work, whatever it may be: “In fact, often the glory of God is most on display where his people are most dedicated to displaying his goodness and grace in difficult or demeaning contexts.” God grants us the freedom to serve him by multiplying our gifts in any manner in which we choose to do it: “faithfulness to God [should be] our measure of success.”

The Christian must be vigilant about his character in the workplace, because “the occupations that are designed to magnify and multiply God’s glory are also a means for Satan to extend evil into our lives.”

Ironically, Chapell’s own workplace behaviour has recently brought scandal to the church.
In a May 2025 podcast with The Gospel Coalition, Chapell stated that “those who build their reputations on destroying the reputations of others will end up with terribly dark lives.” He then proceeded to disparage the reputations of several Christian authors, as he held up to the camera a list of “scandalizers,” adamantly proclaiming that “every name on that list has either left his family, left the faith, or taken his life.”

Pastor Andy Webb, one of the listed ‘scandalizers,’ responds that “rumours of my demise (or apostasy or divorce) have been greatly exaggerated!” In Chapell’s subsequent apology, he states that he did not think that the names on his list would be legible to the camera, but his detractors question the appropriateness of keeping such a list of enemies in the first place. As Chapell himself states in his book, “the sinful desire to be superior to someone resides in the dark places of every human heart.”

This small scandal does not negate but underscores the relevance of the subject matter of the book. It serves as a powerful reminder of how important it is to attempt to reflect God’s character in our workplace: “When God’s people are at peace with one another and their hearts are engaged in a common purpose, both the church and its leaders can thrive.” Grace at Work challenges the Christian to approach his occupation as a vocation, viewing his secular work as an integrated part of his Christian walk, rather than as a piece of life that is parallel to that walk.
Profile Image for Paul Waibel.
47 reviews10 followers
September 20, 2022
In the mid-1980s, my wife and I attended a Sunday School class at an Evangelical Free Church in Deerfield, Illinois. The class was team-taught by two Bible professors from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Dr. John H. Sailhamer and Dr. Gleason Archer, Jr. To learn about the Bible from two such scholars was a great honor.

I remember well a discussion one Sunday in which the two distinguished Old Testament scholars debated whether the Hebrew word in Genesis 2:15 translated into English as “work” should be translated as “worship?” Dr. Archer was of the opinion that the Hebrew word should be translated as “worship.” He blamed the mistranslation of the Hebrew word as “work” on those who produced the King James translation of the Bible. Dr. Sailhamer favored “work.” The difference of opinion, as I recall, seemed to have something to do with a little mark—a jot or tittle as they say—above one of the letters of the Hebrew word that determines the correct translation.

That said, now to the subject of this review, Grace at Work: Redeeming the Grind & the Glory of You Job by Bryan Chapell (Crossway, 2022). Bryan Chapell is a former pastor, seminary professor, and seminary president. Grace at Work is a biblical, and therefore Christian, look at how we who identify as followers of Jesus Christ should view our labor, job, work, vocation, or “daily grind.” Many of us, indeed myself, have often felt that work is a byproduct of the curse mentioned in Genesis 3:17. That is not true. Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 says that for one to enjoy one’s work is a blessing from God.

Bryan Chapell challenges the reader to consider work as a part of who we are as Christians: “Is what we are doing truly honoring God?” Every aspect of our life, everything we are and do, should reflect our relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ. Work, for example, results in financial reward. But our material possessions, including our finances, are not “private property,” as seen from a worldly perspective. We exercise stewardship over our possessions, including our very life. Using or misusing our possessions will reflect our relationship with Jesus Christ. The central theme in Grace at Work is that God gives purpose to our work, and through our work, many opportunities to show the world what it means to be one saved by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Grace at Work is well-written, easy to read, and easy to understand. It includes “Notes,” which guide further reading if desired. There is also a “General Index” and a “Scripture Index.”
We Christians live lives in total obedience. We struggle with what the apostle Paul called “the old nature.” Still, we are given daily opportunities to be an example to the world of what it means to be a clay vessel in God’s hands.





Profile Image for Frances Chan.
100 reviews16 followers
July 12, 2022
This short but encouraging book was full of great, highlight-able passages about the value and dignity of work. Whether you are a workaholic who needs to be reminded that you are more than your productivity or someone who needs to see how meaningful work can be, you will find encouragement and conviction in this book.

Some small critiques: this book focuses almost exclusively on traditional, paid workplace jobs. I would have loved to see freelancing and unpaid care work (raising children, caring for aging parents, etc.) mentioned, as I think all the principles the author mentions apply to these kinds of work as well. The author also specifically blames video games for the lack of motivation that some younger people show in the workplace; I found this to be a very oversimplified, narrow treatment of the issue. While it’s certainly a problem for some people, every generation has always had its own ways of wasting time or avoiding responsibility, and there are many people wasting time in other ways that won’t be captured by this narrow callout. This section of the book was a missed opportunity to call believers of all generations to fruitful, diligent work in whatever sphere God has placed them in at the time, and to avoid whatever timewasters are particularly enticing to them.

(I was provided a free copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley in return for my honest review.)
Profile Image for Ryan Johnson.
134 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2024
Overall I am glad I read the book. Initially it did not feel like a discussion about how the gospel influences our work, instead it felt like work was the "hub" and every potential element of life that work influences was a separate "spoke" and ultimately the focus of each chapter.

It felt like each chapter was more about the subject with a loose connection to work, with a few exceptions.

I profoundly enjoyed the chapters on integrity and balance. I felt those were most relevant to me in my current season of life as a father of two young children and a business owner.

I pray that the Lord would use my witness. Thank you for this work.
Profile Image for Jessi.
280 reviews33 followers
December 18, 2023
As far as Christian popular-level books go, I liked this one a good bit. Chapell grounds his points in Scripture, and it was helpful to get a new perspective on all the work that feels humdrum or pointless. Chapell writes, "Our work is not so much ennobled by the tasks we do or the skills we exercise, as by the purpose God accomplishes through us." Each chapter covers a different aspect of work, like success, money, integrity, and evil. Some of the chapters were more fleshed out than others. I didn't really connect with the chapter on balance as much (Chapell went on a tangent about children), but I liked the chapter on evil, especially when it comes up in Christian organizations. I'd recommend this book to those who are feeling a bit disheartened or disillusioned with their work.
93 reviews1 follower
October 15, 2022
A sound book. Heard the author speaking about it on a podcast lately so thought I'd get it. Didn't live up to the hype but it was a good book. The writing style isn't for me - far too many stories and I think only some of them were helpful. I did still enjoy it and got a lot from it but it was a bit of a drag to get through all of it. Recommended.
Profile Image for Reily Martin.
8 reviews
August 26, 2024
A very encouraging book that explains how work is a means of worship. This helps place work in the right place in our lives — exhorting excellence but also speaking against workaholism. There were so many things to glean from this book as you think about how your work fits into God’s economy and to display Christ in your workplace. 10/10.
Profile Image for Madi Dorrough.
14 reviews
December 2, 2024
4.5 rounded up. Despite some of the chapters repeating the same thing, this book was really great at presenting how Christians should be in the workplace and all the things that come with that like money/tithing, what success really means, how to be a good leader, and how to deal with ridicule for standing up for your morals.
Profile Image for Ann.
74 reviews
August 7, 2022
A fantastic book for any Christian working in the secular world

One of the best books I have ever read on what it means to be a Christian in the workplace. Biblical, thorough and very easy to read.
Profile Image for Austin Puckett.
34 reviews6 followers
December 6, 2023
I do think this book is very helpful on the topic of secular work in the Christian life. However, I knocked it for two reasons: (1) he said our work is “holy ground,” which is a bit imprecise for my taste, and (2) he quoted James Cone positively, which is find ill-advised to say the least.
Profile Image for Gabriel Magill.
150 reviews
January 4, 2025
This book is an excellent little book to help us think how Christ helps us redeem all things, including our day to day work, no matter what kind of work we do. This book is very accessible and has very practical advice.
Profile Image for Elise Citrowske.
21 reviews2 followers
December 7, 2025
A good listen on audio to remind me of the gift it is to serve the Lord right where He has me. I love hearing the stories of how God has worked through others and to be reminded that the Lord sees all we do and is faithful.
Profile Image for Vianny D'Souza.
71 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2023
Good perspective on secular work and vocation! Every working Christian should read to make more sense of what otherwise could seem like a meaningless grind.
Profile Image for Steve Browne.
8 reviews2 followers
March 15, 2025
This is the best book on living out your faith at work that I’ve found. Highly recommend it !!
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