Beyond the Sacred–Secular Divide: Work as Worship, Vocation, and Justice in Biblical-Theological Perspective

Popular Christian discourse frequently describes work as worship, yet the formula is often asserted rather than demonstrated and can unintentionally sanctify exploitative labour arrangements. This article develops a critical biblical theology of work by reading Genesis 1–3, the Sabbath traditions, selected wisdom texts, the ministry of Jesus, Romans 12:1–2, Colossians 3:17–4:1, and Revelation within a canonical and theological-ethical framework. It argues that ordinary work may become worship, but not by virtue of activity, productivity, or religious intention alone. Work becomes worship insofar as it participates in God's creative and preservative agency, serves the neighbour and the common good, embodies justice and truth, respects creaturely limits through Sabbath, and is offered in grateful response to grace. Lexical analysis also corrects a common word-study error: Hebrew ʿābad and Greek latreia can denote service in cultic settings, but their semantic ranges do not collapse all labour into worship. The ethical context must determine the theological character of work. Colossians 3:22–4:1 is therefore interpreted neither as a timeless employment manual nor as a legitimation of slavery, but as a Christological reorientation that exposes every human master to the judgment of the impartial Lord. In conversation with African theological scholarship, the article extends the account to informal labour, unemployment, ecological stewardship, communal obligation, and economic injustice. It concludes by proposing six criteria—creation, neighbour, justice, integrity, creaturely limits, and eschatological hope—for discerning when work can truthfully be named worship.