The disciple James talks about looking into a mirror to see our faces. When we see that our face is dirty, yet walk away and forget to clean it, we deceive ourselves. This isn’t what God wants.

Despite fear, setbacks, and weariness in pursuing her calling to write, the author clings to Galatians 6:9, trusting that if she remains faithful and open-handed with her dreams, God will bring a harvest in His perfect time.

In the beginning, God formed man out of the dust and put him in the garden to “work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:7, 15). Work is inseparable from the identity of man; man is a worker. Yet work and the nature of work are, in our day, facing a crisis as the AI revolution unfolds. McKinsey research estimates that in the next 10 to 20 years, 47 percent of U.S. jobs are at risk and that 63 percent of knowledge tasks will soon be automatable. Goldman Sachs sees 300 million full-time jobs at risk globally. The World Economic Forum is a little more balanced; it sees a net displacement of 14 million. Even though the looming disruption will be a challenge for both men and women, I want to address young men specifically. On the brink of this new world, facing a vocational landscape unlike that of their fathers and grandfathers, how should they prepare? How might we disciple young men to embrace their identity as workers at a time when the future of work feels so up in the air? Here are four ways. 1. Manifest appropriate disgust. The 2008 film Wall-E depicts a dystopian future in which mankind’s labor is no longer needed. The robots do all the work, even down to the walking. The people subsequently become disgusting; by age, they’re just like older versions of fat 10-month-old babies. Immobile, overfed, immature, and permanently entertained, they hover around in a meaningless and soulless existence. Many young men yearn for a frictionless life. A life without sweat, without strain, and without suffering. Some might argue for a UBI (universal basic income) that funds their limitless capacity to engage video games, porn, and gambling hobbies. They resent God’s design for work in this life, yearning instead for an eternal rest apart from the worship of God. Those who lean toward sloth will see the rise of the machines as deliverance. Christian men should learn to resent this vision, even find it disgusting. The life of the sluggard is repulsive to the one who embraces God’s design for work. Labor is love. The possibility of a life of pure leisure should give us “the ick.” 2. Absorb the curse. As part of the curse of sin assigned to humanity, Adam is told in Genesis 3:17–19, Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. Life is neither fair nor easy. Work is a blessing, but our work is cursed. An AI-changed work landscape won’t change this curse. It has always been the case that the responsibility of provision weighs heavily on men. And men have absorbed the burden of the curse in every generation. Consider for a moment the work your great-great-grandfathers did. Why should you expect to work less hard than they did? What entitlement to ease exists in your heart? You have what it takes to make ends meet because you’re made in God’s image and have his help. Line up your expectations with the grain of reality and embrace the fact that you must work at your cursed work. AI is changing the economic landscape. You’ll have to reimagine, reinvent, and redeploy yourself in and between jobs. You’ll have to pivot, you’ll have to learn, and you’ll have to face the anxieties of uncertainty. When you accept this reality, rather than resist or deny it, you’ll be accepting the curse’s effects instead of abdicating your responsibility to carry the weight of reality. 3. Cultivate IRL trust. Did AI write this article? Some of it? Was AI consulted? How can you know? I can deny AI use until I’m blue in the face, but you can’t see my face, and so you don’t know it’s blue. I could film a video explaining how I wrote the article all by myself, but you can’t trust that either. I’d like you to trust me, but why would you? In real life (IRL) is quickly becoming the only verifiable experience. Scam emails are annoying, but AI video, audio, and text will soon make it such that you can’t even trust what you’re seeing on a Zoom call. The skills needed to connect in real physical environments are quickly becoming hot commodities. The skills needed to connect in real physical environments are quickly becoming hot commodities. McKinsey’s research says as much: High social and emotional intelligence is vital to ensure you’re not pushed out of the workforce by a large language model. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control: to embody these virtues in the context of an embodied relationship is not only obedient but a key asset for employability in an era of low digital trust. Young men who cultivate trust in real communities and networks will set themselves up for vocational success, whatever comes. 4. Lean into market shifts. Two centuries ago, about 80 percent of Americans worked as some kind of farmer. No more. It seems like only 200 hours ago that Americans were being told to “learn to code.” No more. Even the coders don’t code much anymore. Where will the jobs go? The digital revolution gender-neutralized the workforce like never before in human history. My guess is that the AI revolution will serve to retraditionalize the economics-and-gender environment. Physicality will matter in a big way again. Smart will matter less than it recently has; strong will matter more. Tradesmen like plumbers, electricians, mechanics, contractors, and welders won’t be replaced by robotics for a long time, if ever. Physically demanding, customer-facing jobs are safe for a long time. Even if robots develop technical capabilities for trade jobs in the next 30 years, people won’t want to let into their house a robot that could be hacked by China or by a programmer working from his mom’s basement. Roles that require human touch and IRL connection will also endure: therapists of all kinds (occupational, massage, speech, trauma, marriage and family, and so on), medical professionals, and social and public service jobs (like police, pastors, probation officers, and personal trainers). Smart will matter less than it recently has; strong will matter more. Young men should also remember that “employment” is a relatively new category in world history. Most men in history worked for themselves, or their fathers, or as part of the family business. Finding employment may prove increasingly difficult as agentic AI can cheaply replace “do as you’re told” white-collar employees. Ownership and entrepreneurship, however, will be easier than ever before. With AI’s help, people who previously lacked the skills to run a company will have new opportunities to start businesses. As part of the “silver tsunami,” 6 million boomer-owned small and midsize companies (collectively worth $5 trillion) will be transferred to the next generation by 2035. Gen Z, rightly prepared to use AI tools, will be ready to inherit or buy those businesses and lead them toward profitability in the changing landscape. The market for work has shifted before; it’ll shift again. People who want to honor the Lord and serve their neighbor with their labor will have to be creative. Work with All Your Might Historically, and more recently by highly influential voices on masculinity like Scott Galloway, men have been told to live into the thee P’s: provide, protect, and procreate. “Protect” connects to Adam’s assignment to “keep” the garden (Gen. 2:15). “Procreate” corresponds to the shared task Adam and Eve were given in Genesis 1: Be fruitful and multiply. “Provide”? In Scripture’s opening pages, we learn that provision for self and others will be difficult, but not impossible, under the curse. Finding work isn’t easy, yet it’s essential to who we’re created to be. And on this side of the cross, we work not only from our own will but from the power of Christ, who absorbed the ultimate effects of the curse. Though thorns and thistles still abound, the saving work of Jesus transforms our work into worship. We still work to provide; we also work as a means of praise. And so “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Eccl. 9:10), and work heartily unto the Lord (Col. 3:23).

Summer vacation was the most longed-for part of my childhood. It also seemed to be the longest part of each year. It’s no surprise that the bus ride home on the last day of school was always out of control. And when I finally got off the bus for the last time until September, with my backpack stuffed with the odds and ends accumulated over the year, the possibilities seemed endless. After a few weeks had elapsed, the joy of a schedule-free life had become a burden. Boredom had set in. The summer days dragged by, and the routine of school started to seem attractive again. A little boredom is a good thing, actually. It can spur creativity and push kids to do the work to entertain themselves by building a fort, inventing a game, or reading. These activities all do more than entertain; they can help kids learn to concentrate, solve problems, and negotiate minor conflicts on their own. Kids need parental direction toward what is best. They may have free rein of the pantry during the summer, but it’s not great if they exist from June-August on only chips and soda. The same is true with their reading diet. Parents should want kids to read books that delight and instruct. As Kathryn Butler argues in Stories Woven in Silver, “Far beyond simple means of entertainment, well-told stories are instruments for the shaping of minds and hearts.” Parents should want kids to read books that delight and instruct. As a parent of voracious readers, I’ve regularly faced the challenge of helping my kids find good books. It’s often fine to read the latest popular series, even if the stories won’t stand the test of time. However, I also want my kids to read the sort of books they’ll want to share with their own kids. Websites like Read-Aloud Revival, Redeemed Reader, and Good Book Mom can help parents find quality books, many of which are available from the local library. I also contacted several Christian authors to ask for a book recommendation for 8-to-13-year-olds to read this summer. These are the answers I received. 1. Kathryn Butler, author of The Dream Keeper Saga and The Lamplight Series “I recommend Jack vs. the Tornado, the first book of the Tree Street Kids series. Amanda Cleary Eastep follows in the footsteps of Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume with Tree Street Kids, a heartwarming series featuring the antics and escapades of a group of school-age kids in the 1990s. Eastep creates highly relatable and endearing characters who face sticky challenges and who must rely on one another—and on their faith in God—to navigate the messiness of life.” 2. S. D. Smith, author of the Green Ember series “My kids pestered me respectfully to give Gary D. Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars a chance. I am grateful for their persistence because it is so good—in every aspect of that word. Good. It is excellently written and easy to read. It is humorous, sincere, and deeply moving. I believe Schmidt is the world’s best children’s novelist. The Wednesday Wars, and his work broadly, resounds with kingdom light.” 3. Ginger Blomberg, author of Charlie and the Preschool Prodigal “Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is an ocean adventure for hot summer days. It includes the beaches, boats, quirky new acquaintances, and unexpected plan pivots that often accompany summer excursions even today, but hopefully your travel will include fewer murdering pirates. The image of a kid setting off over the horizon remains a powerful draw for young hearts, especially those who have a new middle or high school waiting as the summer days wane.” 4. Martin Williams, author of John Calvin’s Illustrated Institutes “For curious readers around 8–13, I’d recommend C. J. Lovik’s edition of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. It reads like an adventure story: a man named Christian leaves everything familiar to follow the King’s path to the Celestial City, facing giants, dungeons, and dazzling temptations along the way. It’s a gripping way to help children feel the drama of following Christ.” 5. Champ Thornton, author of The Radical Books for Kids “Award-winning author Laura Hillenbrand has brilliantly and beautifully adapted her best-selling book to appeal to younger readers. Unbroken: An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive tells the remarkable life story of Louis Zamperini—who ran in the Olympics, fought in World War II, survived adrift in the Pacific Ocean for 47 days, and endured unspeakable atrocities in a prison camp until finally returning home, where he battled alcoholism before becoming a Christian and being transformed by the gospel. (Note: Some younger readers may find photographs of prisoners of war disturbing.).” 6. Amanda Cleary Eastep, author of the Tree Street Kids series “One of my favorite fantasy books as a kid in the 1970s begins: ‘Maybe they shouldn’t have been there at all.’ ‘They’ being siblings Kurt, Wesley, and Lisa. ‘There’ being Uncle John’s attic. Or maybe they’re exactly where Gaal, the Shepherd in The Tower of Geburah, has called them. Filled with Christian parallels, the story invites readers into a classic good vs. evil adventure in the Kingdom of Anthropos.” 7. Leah Boden, author of Chronicles of Wonder: The Story-Formed Life of C. S. Lewis “One of my childhood favorites is The Tanglewoods’ Secret by Patricia St. John. If you’ve ever struggled with big feelings, like Ruth, who describes herself as wild and contrary, you’ll recognize yourself in her story. Through hardship and a moment of deep need, she encounters the Good Shepherd and begins to understand forgiveness, healing, and hope. The characters feel real, the setting is adventurous, and the story stays with you.” 8. Marty Machowski, author of the Redemption Tales series “The Radical Book for Kids and its sequel, The Really Radical Book for Kids, by Champ Thornton, are excellent summer reads for kids ages 8–13 growing up in a world of short-form videos. Champ’s books keep kids turning pages, while introducing them to church history, theology, and gospel living with brief chapters. Filled with fun activities, these books invite kids to explore and grow in their faith all summer long.” 9. Malcolm Guite, author of Galahad and the Grail “If they haven’t already read it, I’d say The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, simply because I think it’s the best of all the Narnia stories. Additionally, if they’re interested in Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and don’t want to tackle the whole of my book, then Roger Lancelyn Green’s King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table is very good. He was a great friend and disciple of C. S. Lewis. Green was a great reteller of ancient stories. He’s really done his background work so he knows the stories well.”

Born in 1918, this remarkable 108-year-old woman, Susan Young Browne, continues to live life with energy, joy, and determination. Her inspiring outlook proves age is no barrier to staying active and embracing each day.