How to experience “the REM of the soul” while you work today

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

Jesus’s audience would have been flabbergasted by these words in the Sermon on the Mount. My righteousness must surpass the Pharisees—the most “righteous” people I know? That’s impossible! they would have thought.

And that is precisely Jesus’s point. 

Jesus’s interpretation of the law is meant to heighten our sense of sinfulness so that we become “poor in spirit” and recognize our need for a Savior—someone to keep the law perfectly on our behalf.

Of course, Jesus is that Savior—the spotless lamb of God who “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22). And the fact that he came “to fulfill” the law perfectly could not be more relevant to your work today.

Let me explain why.

After Adam and Eve sinned, they covered themselves with fig leaves in shame (Genesis 3:7). Today, we do the same—not with literal leaves, but metaphorical ones. Sensing that something is wrong with us, we work insanely hard to prove we are acceptable and worthy of love. And one of the primary arenas we reach for these fig leaves is our work.

Don’t believe me? Listen to Friends star Matthew Perry: “I was pretty sure fame would change everything…I needed it. It was the only thing that would fix me. I was certain of it….But the magic never lasts; whatever holes you’re filling seem to keep opening back up. (It’s like Whac-A-Mole.) Maybe it was because I was always trying to fill a spiritual hole with a material thing.”

Perry is more self-aware than most people—even Christians. It is precisely because he was “trying to fill a spiritual hole” with professional success that he could never rest.

The only thing that could have freed Perry (and can free you and me) is the cross.

Because of our sin, we were once “God’s enemies” (Romans 5:10). But Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t live and died the death we deserved to die so that we could be adopted children of God (Galatians 4:4-7).

That means you no longer need fame or success to “fix” you. You can be totally confident in God’s love on your best and worst day at work. Because if God loved you that much when you were his enemy, certainly you can believe he loves you when you are a child—even when you fail personally or professionally.

Slowly but surely, meditating on that truth will bring about “the REM of the soul,” allowing you to work from a position of love rather than for it. Rest in that love as you work today.