Equipping Those Called to Cultivate

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, December 13th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, book reviewer Lauren Dunn says a new book helps women see the gospel in their work.

LAUREN DUNN: How do our gender differences as men and women affect our work? Our culture often tries to confuse or explain away these differences, but in Called to Cultivate: A Gospel Vision for Women and Work, author Chelsea Patterson Sobolik brings Christian wisdom about gender into the workplace. Not only does she address the struggles a woman can face at work, she also paints a vision of how the gospel applies.

This is a short book–only 160 pages. But Sobolik covers a lot of ground. Early on, she turns to Scripture for the foundation of a Christian’s relationship to work, and much of her advice can apply to both sexes. She notes that God gave both Adam and Eve the creation mandate, what she also refers to as a calling to cultivate. In that mandate, God told humans to “have dominion” over the world God had just created. In chapters like “how we reflect God’s nature when we work,” Sobolik explains how that calling still holds true for us, even after Christ’s first coming. “We are now free,” Sobolik says, “to joyfully serve both God and neighbor resting in the fact that we are forgiven…”

Still, women face unique challenges with their work, and Sobolik’s goal was to write the book that could have helped her when navigating her own work difficulties in her years on Capitol Hill. She writes about her frustrations in jobs that didn’t feel fulfilling, and at one point, she even lost her job when her boss–a legislator–left office after being accused of sexual misconduct.

Called to Cultivate points to God’s care for women throughout Scripture. It also focuses on women’s experiences in areas such as leadership and negotiating a salary or raise. Chapters explore dealing with difficult coworkers and people-pleasing, as well as more serious barriers like sexual, racial, or age discrimination. Sobolik encourages women to help other women in the workplace through prayer and mentorship. Her book is an example of Paul’s admonition to Titus that older women should “train younger women,” though she misses an opportunity to mention that reference. Each chapter ends with discussion questions, verses to meditate on, and suggested books for further reading. 

Some Christian circles have popularized the phrase that “a woman’s highest calling is to be a wife and mother.” Sobolik in no way downplays those roles, sometimes defining work broadly to include volunteering or the work of stay-at-home moms. Instead, she helps readers see a gospel-focused picture of all women’s work. “The Great Commission and the Great Commandment are a woman’s highest calling,” she writes, reminding us that while aspects of our lives may change, this calling to cultivate never will.

Finally, Sobolik cautions readers against allowing work to play too large a role in their lives in the following quote: “When we rest, we are acknowledging that the burdens of this world don’t rest on our shoulders, they rest on His.”

I’m Lauren Dunn.

REICHARD: You can find more ideas for books to give as Christmas gifts on our website…we’ve included a link in today’s show notes.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.