Analysis Of Keller s The Gospel And Work - 1893 Words

After Keller introduces and explains God’s original plan for work and what work has become after the fall of man, Keller comes to the final part of his writing: the Gospel and work. Keller explains that man always attaches a story line to their life. He relates the idea of a story to narratives, which becomes â€Å"a fundamental story about what human life in the world should be like, what has knocked it off balance, and what can be done to make it right.† (154) This narrative is important because everyone lives out a narrative. In addition, everyone acknowledges that there is something wrong within us and among us. Thus our worldview attempts to address these problems and identify what is the cause and what is the solution. Keller explains the†¦show more content†¦Christianity affects not only those areas of work, but all areas of work. While there is a new story for work, there is also a new conception of work. Keller explains that the reason why work done by Christians does not seem different from the work done by non-Christians is that work’s purpose is to serve our neighbor in the best possible way. Anyone could do this, thus it appears no different. Keller warns that Christians can be led to undervalue good work done by nonbelievers. What Christians must do is to â€Å"place a high value on all human work, done by all people, as a channel of God’s love for his world.† (182 Keller further explains that when acknowledging this information, this leads to the Christian theological idea of ‘common grace.’ Understanding common grace is important because without it, Christians will not be able to understand why non-Christians exceed them in many aspects. Through doctrine of sin, â€Å"believers are never as good as our true worldview should make us’ and the doctrine of grace s hows that â€Å"unbelievers are never as messed up as their false worldview should make them† (188) Keller concludes the chapter with a problem currently plaguing Christians: disengagement with popular culture. There are three forms: complete renunciation, creation of an alternate Christian subculture, and uncritical consumption of popular culture without worldview discernment. There are two causes: a thin or legalistic