Many people find great purpose and satisfaction in their work. Your job may make use of your unique gifts and give you a tangible sense of helping those around you flourish. Or perhaps your work is not enjoyable, but you know it is serving a cause you believe in, and therefore worthwhile. But what if your work is none of these things? Is it wrong to stay in an “unfulfilling” job just because you need the paycheck?

In this roundtable discussion, TGC Council members Ryan Kelly, Julius Kim, and Darryl Williamson discuss the relationship between work and material provision. They talk about ways that mundane work can become infused with purpose and about what sorts of truth we need to preach to ourselves when working in a job we don’t enjoy.

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Related:

When Choosing a Career, Don’t Just Follow Your Passion (Bethany Jenkins)
Should You Look for a Job You Are Passionate About? (Kevin DeYoung)
Do What You Love or Do What Needs Doing? (Bethany Jenkins)

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Ryan Kelly (PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) is the pastor for preaching at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. Among other publications, he contributed to The Ashgate Research Companion on John Owen’s Theology. He and his wife, Sarah, have four children.

Julius Kim (MDiv, Westminster Seminary California; PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) served as president of The Gospel Coalition from 2020 to 2023. Julius also serves as associate pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church and visiting professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California, where he previously served as dean of students. He is the author of Preaching the Whole Counsel of God and numerous articles. Julius and his wife, Ji Hee, have two daughters and live in Escondido, California.

Darryl Williamson (MA, Friends University) is the lead pastor of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa, Florida, leads Arise City, and is a member of TGC’s Board of Directors, He has contributed to All Are Welcome and 12 Faithful Men. He and his wife, Julie, have one adult child.