You may or may not have heard about the idea of ‘quiet quitting’?

Depending on where you get your information, or what sources you trust, it appears to be either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

The proponents of ‘quiet quitting’ say that it is simply doing the tasks involved with your assigned role at work, no more, no less, and doing your job without your job taking over your entire life.

Another positive way of looking at it, is saying ‘no’ to extra work at work without extra compensation, which is hard to argue with, as it is doing the job you were initially hired to do at the pay you agreed to do it for. Jesus in fact told a story about this idea in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), although the point of that story was more about the overwhelming generosity of God in our salvation, as opposed to appropriate workplace relations.

There are then those who appear much more critical of the idea of ‘quiet quitting’ as it is more a step towards quitting on life, and people giving up on any ambition in life to go above and beyond to achieve success.

So how should Christians approach the topic? What is a biblical viewpoint?

Well this is probably much too complicated to deal with on a blog post on a website called Christian Funny Pictures, but here are a few thoughts:

  • Christians are called to work and rest, not just because both of these things are good for us, but so that we can look after ourselves, and our families, and to be generous with what is left over;
  • Christians are supposed to put our work in a proper perspective, both doing a good job, but also having an eternal perspective;
  • We will not be much use to anyone, our family, our society, or our church if we are so exhausted from work we have no energy for anything other than work, or even worse, if because of our work, we burn out completely;
  • It is probably not a great idea to ‘quiet quit’ on church (see a fantastic article by Russell Moore in Christianity today);
  • If we are in full time paid ministry, it is probably not a great idea to quiet quit, and only do the bare minimum;
  • If we are not in full time paid ministry, it is probably not a great idea of saying no to extra work without extra compensation. As a church volunteer myself, if I only did what I was paid to do at church, I wouldn’t be doing anything, and I like doing stuff at church (not always, but generally).
  • It is good to call out bad bosses, companies that exploit their workers, and people who do not treat others fairly;

On reflection of this idea of ‘quiet quitting’ I am not sure it is a completely new idea either. I have often heard the idea of Christians who ‘moonlight’ in their paid employment, so that they can devote themselves to other ministries. In fact, Saint Paul, perhaps one of the greatest missionaries and preachers of all time, was also an itinerant worker. He was also perhaps the first person to ‘quiet quit’ in his tent making employment. Of course, Saint Paul had his own reasons for tent making, but would anyone say to Saint Paul, “It’s a shame Saul of Tarsus, didn’t go above and beyond in his tent making skills, as he could have used his ambition to become the best tent maker in all of Asia Minor”.

What do you think? Have you heard of ‘quiet quitting’? Do you lean towards it being a good idea or not a good idea? Should Christians engage in the practice?

We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic, if you have any.