Work is the meaning of life.
Got your attention?
Your identity is tied to what you do.
I bet I have it now.
So argues David Bahnsen in his book Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life. Bahnsen is the founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, a national private wealth management firm. He’s also the author of several books, including Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It.
In This Episode
00:00 – Why Christians shouldn’t pit work against family or church
01:10 – Why Full Time Work and the Meaning of Life matters so deeply to Bahnsen
02:11 – Losing his father and discovering purpose through work
03:56 – The church’s discomfort with ambition and vocation
06:00 – Identity, salvation, and what our work says about us
09:06 – “Work is the meaning of life?” A biblical case from Genesis
12:55 – The crisis of men not working and its social consequences
16:12 – How Reformed theology shapes Bahnsen’s view of vocation
19:41 – The influence of Tim Keller’s Every Good Endeavor
23:14 – Rejecting the zero-sum view of family vs. career
31:41 – Productivity, early mornings, and modeling joyful work
36:10 – Why in-person work still matters after COVID-19
44:39 – Conviction, politics, and resisting tribal thinking
54:21 – Overcoming resentment by telling the truth
Resources Mentioned
Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life by David Bahnsen
Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It by David Bahnsen
Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Tim Keller
SIGN UP for my newsletter, Unseen Things.
Help The Gospel Coalition renew and unify the contemporary church in the ancient gospel: Donate today.
Don’t miss an episode of Gospelbound with Collin Hansen:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube
TGC Updates
The Gospel Coalition