Faith and Practice

As you can probably tell, my faith has a big influence on my reasons for going into the field of Social Work, but in class my professors have been encouraging (some more than others) that I separate my faith from the work I do as a Social Worker. None of my professors have given any reasons why they think this is necessary. Personally, to do so would mean removing my desire for social work. I talked to another classmate about this very issue. He is Catholic and although we have some differences of interpretation, we both agree that our faith is the driving force behind our interest in social work. Without our love for God guiding us, we are ineffective in this profession.
I wonder why faith is discouraged. Could it be the strictly academic arena that wants to expel faith, or is there something else going on? Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey addresses the dividing wall that has been built between a persons beliefs and their profession (whatever that may be). The book is about the role of faith in public life and, more specifically, challenges the idea that Christians should leave their faith at home when they go to work, and that Christians can only be effective in the “Christian” realm. The main argument of the book comes straight from Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that move on the earth.” (The First Great Mandate) and Exodous 20:8-10a “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” In the first mandate that God gave man, He told him to be productive and take joy in it. Man was made with a drive for work that is purposeful.
“This means that our vocation or professional work is not a second-class activity, something we do just to put food on the table. It is the high calling for which we were originally created. The way we serve a Creator God is by being creative with the talents and gifts He has given us.” (Pearcy 2005 p. 47)
In the fourth commandment, God tells Israel to work and rest on the seventh day of the week. Pay attention to the wording, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” God didn’t command them to sit at home and be “spiritual”, or to work for the sake of money. At this time in Israel’s history, they were wandering in the desert where there were no fields to be planted, mostly just livestock to care for, and it was God who gave them food every day. So He wasn’t commanding them to work so they wouldn’t starve, He was commanding them to work because that is what they were meant to do. In doing so, they brought glory to God; the chief end of man (Matthew 5:16). These passages encourage believers to be faithful and dutiful in their work, not to separate themselves from the world (as many do). Yet, the message we receive from the world encourages separation and does not want us to bring our motivating beliefs (at least not this kind) into the public forum or work place. It is difficult to not give in, especially when you are told in class that your particular beliefs are not welcome and are considered some what suspicious.
However, I want to prove them wrong. I want to be the employee and/or Social Worker that proves that her faith in God helps her to do her job well. I want to play a part in building a bridge between faith and practice, both in the secular work place and even in the research world. I have been thinking and praying about what to do after graduate school and I find that I am still very interested in getting a Ph.D. and doing research. I would like to track (statistically) the impact of faith-based social organizations so that there would finally be some real hard data about the effectiveness of such organizations (and maybe also provide some accountability for the organizations). The way I see it, I would be glorifying God by pursuing that degree because He has given me the ability and desire to do so.
This task is not easy and I am going to get discouraged. I already have had days where I felt like giving up because I felt like so much was against me. On those days, I ran to God with my burdens and he gave me the strength to leave my worries about my clients with him.
I have claimed the last sentence of this prayer from The Valley of Vision (A Collection of Puritan Prayers) as my own and one that I pray often:
“O God, make me worthy of this calling, that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me and I in Him.”
Amen