A few months ago on the Breakpoint Podcast, I spoke with David Bahnsen, founder and chief investment officer of the Bahnsen Group and highly sought after commentator on market trends and economics by national media. Our conversation was occasioned by a 1,000-point dip in the stock market, a correction that led to panicked headlines about the prospects of the economy and our collective financial futures.  

Calmly and carefully, Bahnsen described what led to this particular selloff, which did not even crack the top 100 in history. The dip, he explained, had far more to do with international markets than American electoral politics or other hypotheticals that were irresponsibly thrown around at the time. Christians, he noted, should not be so vulnerable to panic as everyone else. Our worldview demands that we think and live differently in every area of life, including this one. 

How the sovereignty and faithfulness of God reframes a true understanding of the economy and financial stewardship are not talked about nearly enough by Christians. Too often, we are shaped by fear, market volatility, an overreliance on politics, and, especially, a secular view of work and money. In his book, Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, Bahnsen argues that work is better understood by the truth God has revealed about the world and who we are in His image.  

In fact, Bahnsen believes that Christians working as Christians is an essential part of our witness. I asked Bahnsen whether he thinks this is a way that Christians should be “weird,” and his answer was clear: 

Yes, I very much do. I have agreed with it, believed it, advocated for such, for a long time, that it is to me the lowest hanging fruit for us. And this is, of course, at the very heart of what the Colson Center’s always been about. For those of us who believe in cultural influence—the kingdom of God being the matter of all these endeavors that God has created that he cares about—that the marketplace, to me, is the most fertile soil for Christians to do the work of the kingdom, to stand out. 

There are areas in which it can be weird because for one thing, these days it might be weird to tell the truth. It may be weird to be faithful to your spouse. You know, there’s all kinds of things in which certain virtues, character traits that are unique to Christians, represent a positive differentiation. 

But I also would say that if we are doing our jobs right, (this is the essence of the book) we will not be weird. We will not stand out. We will not move the needle in the culture only because we bring the most honesty to work, although I hope we do. We will also need to bring the most technique, the most productivity, the most innovation, the most hustle and grit. 

I think basically being the top performers in our work is a moral calling. And that’s what the heart of the book is, is that there is morality and obedience and performance and achievement, and we are not merely ignoring that message. But some are instead preaching the opposite. They’re saying, you know what? It’s time to quit worrying about what we do and just sort of sit back and focus on a very quiet, unproductive, unremarkable life. 

And I believe that what we’ve done in that, even though, thank God, we’re not saying that about other domains (there are more and more Christians saying something very different about politics or about education). But in the marketplace, where most people spend most of their time, there is an opportunity for incredible cultural conquest and influence. And I believe that we have to understand creation early, why God made us to that higher calling and the opportunity it represents for us in the future. 

For too long, Christians have absorbed a secular understanding of work. If you wonder if your work matters, and if you struggle to find joy and purpose in your job, David L. Bahnsen’s book, Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life will help you recover a Christian understanding of work, ambition, money, retirement, and more. Get a copy this month with a gift of any amount to the Colson Center. Just visit colsoncenter.org/february.