July 2026: Work with Your Hands
A blessed July, and a happy 4th especially as we celebrate 250 years of our country. What a blessing God has given to us!
This month we will continue our look at The Quiet Ambition by Rev. Dr. Ryan Tinetti. Over the past few months, we’ve examined what he means by “quiet ambition,” what it means to “live quietly,” and what it means to “tend your own business.” As a reminder, you can reread those articles on our website under “Newsletter Articles” if you want. Or, you can borrow the book from me to read for a fuller explanation. This month we will look at the third idea of 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, “Work with your hands.” Tinetti takes a two-sided approach to the concept of working with your hands. It has innate spiritual value, and it helps us tap into the creative part of human nature.
Tinetti points us to the concept of vocation. Vocation, if you aren’t familiar, is a word that also comes from Latin for “to call.” Our vocations are therefore the places that we’ve been “called to” by God and work on his behalf. They are more than just jobs, but jobs are certainly included, regardless of the sector. Different vocations may be a spouse, a child, a parent, a janitor, a clerk, a student, a neighbor, a citizen, a church member, etc. These vocations are ways that we serve others as (what Luther calls) “masks of God.” We do God’s work on his behalf as we do work on behalf of others in these vocations.
Part of that is serving others. We might work with our hands as a neighbor by doing yard work for an elderly person down the street, or by helping them take groceries in. We work with our hands as an employee by being faithful workers that keep on task. Some jobs might be easier than others; a mechanic, farmer, plumber, or carpenter works with their hands in serving others by nature of their jobs. Others might need some creative thought to connect to “working with your hands.”
The other side of this coin of “working with your hands” is the creative aspect that comes from this sort of work. Our God is a creative God – that’s what we confess together in the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed. Being made in God’s image, some reason that this includes creativity in human nature. Creativity is, at the very least, a wonderful gift of God that plays out in our vocations and our hobbies.
It may be building a beautifully orchestrated garden in your yard or the yard of our church (have you thanked the people who do that work for us lately?). I have recently learned how to crochet and found great joy in making little stuffed animals as gifts for my fiancé, niece, nephew, and mother in the past few years. In a time where we are constantly told by our culture (explicitly and implicitly) to consume, try creating something instead. Tinetti even suggests that the next time you are invited over for dinner or have a meal at church (we do have a bake sale coming up!), try baking your own bread.
Blessings on your July, and we will wrap up this series next month as we look to “walk gracefully towards outsiders.” May God bless your celebrations and travels this month.