Could there be any job or profession in the Holy Bible considered before God as a sin or morally and spiritually forbidden? Have you ever had a consequential thought about some kinds of professions accepted in our world with potential profitability, highly demanding and that pay so much but were outrightly outlawed by God if you were ever to be a son or daughter of his kingdom? Are you just into some professions owing to being ignorant and merely considering them as normal or just because they pay and or you are being pushed to do them? We have come to an age of advanced technologies and civilization and there are many different professions being reared up by these tools. The benefits of these professions are that they pay handsomely, especially in foreign currencies like dollars, euros, and or pounds. These could make you rich in months and wealthy in a few count of years. More to this is that you might do them in the comfort zone of your room, serving you conveniently and without much stress.
The concept of jobs and professions is divine law given to nature; God to man. Man is committed to working to keep the world in a conducive zone that pays him. Genesis 2:15, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” The main significance of professions is to serve our world and keep us enriched with what we need in life. In the context of the text. Man became an agriculturalist; maintaining the crops which God had planted and watching over the animals which God had created. Some theologians posit that the size of Eden was like unto the size of Lagos State in Nigeria. Meaning, just about 3,000 plus square kilometers.
We noticed that what it used to be was no more. Jobs and or professions are not curses. They are established to fulfill the pleasures of man in the service of God. Work was never a curse until man was no longer found in the place of God. The virtues of jobs and professions have now become insane. An insane pursuit to labour, labour, and or fail, eat in either surplus or the contrast. And at the end death; vanities. That was not the law outlined preliminarily.
Genesis 3:17-20, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”
These verses describe the curse God placed on Adam and the ground after he ate from the forbidden tree, outlining the new reality of toil and mortality for humankind. The causative effects on mankind were now the subjection into what we are now discussing in this article; professions that look forbidden. And here, we have numerous professions that our society has declared immoral and some are still engaged in the society that the Holy Bible denounced. But, one peculiar notation is that the Bible never openly talked about these things but is rebuked merely by silence, and at the same time talks about those people doing them.
The Bible identifies and reckons on jobs and or professions that have integrity in them. While those who are not of integrity are out of what God would have man do. Another is the professions that are morally inclined. The next to deal with are the moral and or spiritual motivation and the method of executions. Those who have moral sanity. How are you doing them? Are you being sincere in the service? Are you not making the job and or professions look forbidden by God? Those are the questions you need to answer in the face of professions and or jobs you are doing to get money.
The Truly Forbidden Professions (Inherently Sinful)
As we have posited. Some jobs are absolutely incompatible with Christian ethics because their primary function violates a core commandment of the Holy Spirit. They are not Biblically corresponding.
• Professions Built On Sexual Immoralities
How do we explain the job nature of prostitution, pornography production, pimping and etc, to be Godly professions? These demonic professions pay in good dollars internationally. Though, the society conceived them to be immoral publicly denounces them as immoral society privately feeds on the contents. The state of God on these professions is that they are forbidden and are not meant for any child of God to do them to survive.
The body which is used as tools; office and shop in these works are God’s owned. The body is a temple. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Unique Harm: Sexual sin is unique among sins because it is a sin against one’s own body (v. 18). Sacred Ownership: The believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and was bought with a price (the sacrifice of Christ), meaning it belongs to God, and must therefore be used to glorify Him (v. 19-20). Why should we engage in such works?
• Professions Built on Deception and Fraud
The nature of these jobs and professions is: Professional swindler, organized crime built on theft, and contract killer. In today’s world, the name for the jobs is ‘yahoo-yahoo’. In fact, some companies are built purposely to scam and defraud people. Some even take a realistic look at a legitimate business and or company. People are going about doing them all because of the profits they would derive or are deriving from them.
Explicit condemnation; Those who do them explicitly break commands against lying and killing (Exodus 20:13, 15, 16). Leviticus 19:13a, “Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor.” In Mark, “Defraud not.” 1 Thess 4:6, “That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter.”
• Professions Built on Idolatry and The Occult:
The professions and or jobs are built on sorcery, divination, and commercialized spiritual deception. Clear condemnation of these practices (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
The Red Zone: Jobs With High Moral Hazards
There is are vast majority of professions and jobs that are holistically clear and precisely accepted in our society. They have a sane outlook. They are Biblical. They are not inherently Sinful but often Christians compromise their ethics.
• The Nature of Exploitation and Usury
Under the guise of greed. Charging exorbitant, predatory interest (payday loans) or cheating employees out of fair wages.Scripture condemned the oppression of the poor (Deuteronomy 24:14; James 5:4).
• The Nature of Professions Requiring Dishonesty:
The problem of sales, legal, or political roles where success seems impossible without deliberate lying or misrepresentation. Christians must be people of truth (Colossians 3:9).
• The Professional Life of the Tax Collector (Luke 19:1-10):
Jesus didn’t tell Zacchaeus to quit collecting taxes; He told him to stop the sinful practice (extortion) and make restitution. The job was redeemable once the behavior changed.
The Passed-Test For Your Career; Evaluating Your Professions Or Job In The Light Of The Scriptures.
I once worked as a teacher in a certain private school, there in Akure City. The Proprietor by virtue of confession claimed to be a Christian. We work tirelessly to make the lives of the pupils count for a bright future destined for them. But, the major challenges have been with poor welfare of all staff salaries have not been paid for months, and among other issues until you even forget about your salaries. However, now that there are not enough funds to pay staff the system was merely subtle for the proprietor to enjoy them. The professions; being a proprietor is not forbidden and not a sin but the fellow who is a proprietor heading the school is the problem. Leviticus 19:13, “neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” God took the defrauding case as a serious case with him. 1 Thess 4:6, “because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.”
1 Cor 10:31, In any job or profession you would love to go for, one question you must be able to ask yourself; Can I do this job and do it to the glory of God? But, many haven’t been considering this. They ponder all on the juiciness and suitability. What of God’s view about it?
You need to run a conscience check on your profession and job. Romans 14. Does your job violate your personal conscience or cause others to stumble? Or are you doing something contradictory to the will of God in your work?
Are you a lecturer who confesses to be a Christian but would only grade students by money and not by their performance? Or are you fleshly moved to have anything with female students before giving them the grades they deserve? You have to know that holiness is how we walk and not what we call ourselves. You have to personally, actionably test and evaluate your job.
One thing about this piece is to conceivably move you from the universal acceptance of work, to the small category of forbidden work, to the largest and most relevant category (the “gray areas”), and finally offer a practical biblical filter.
