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Purpose, Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment at Work

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The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being

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Abstract

People can discover joy and fulfillment as a by-product of finding the meaning of life; these personal discoveries emerge when people at work at their vocations make conscious choices that become transformative. Purpose is an outgrowth of meaning in concrete situations. God designed people to work as co-workers, but through the Fall in Genesis 3, alienation entered every sphere of human existence, including human work. At the same time, work is to be celebrated in a balanced rhythm with other aspects of life, e.g., re-creation. Jesus ushers in the fulfilled kingdom of God, and yet the very kingdom still looks to the consummation at the end of the age. Jesus offers a new way of looking at creation, the human person, and responsible work in between the ages. His person, words, and works, including his redemptive death and God’s vindication through the resurrection and ascension, provide the new lens through which people can view themselves, their families, community, co-workers, workplace, vocation, and future. When work alienates, a job dehumanizes people. Conversely, to the extent that a job is viewed as a “new creation,” work humanizes persons. Purpose, joy, and fulfillment are crowded out by numerous forms of egoism, yet the biblical writers offer antidotes to combat the various faces of alienation. God is a God of great joy who wills joy for the people of God; they are designed to flourish – not simply survive. Jesus himself embodies the very heart of God and God’s ultimate plan for the world for beauty, justice, peace, and joy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Divinity, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

    J. Lyle Story

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  1. J. Lyle Story
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Correspondence to J. Lyle Story .

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  1. Woodbury University, North Hills, CA, USA

    Satinder Dhiman

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Story, J.L. (2020). Purpose, Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment at Work. In: Dhiman, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02470-3_40-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02470-3_40-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02470-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02470-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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