This weekend is Labor Day weekend in the United States. It is the unofficial end to summer, but at the same time it is so much more. The United States Department of Labor recognizes Labor Day as “a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”
Thank you to everyone who labors to serve the greater good. Thank you for taking pride in your work. Thank you for giving it everything you got. Thank you for taking the overtime shifts. Thank you for keeping at it even when you don’t feel appreciated. Thank you to all of you who do those jobs that others do not want to do.
On another note, we want to pray for those who are out of work or underworked. We want to lift up the businesses in our communities, both small and large, that they would be successful and help to provide a living for many individuals and families. Pray for those who govern that they would make wise decisions for the benefit of those who employ and those who are employed.
So Labor Day is a day to rest from our work as a way to celebrate our work. When it comes to work, the Bible has a lot to say.
Work is good
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Genesis 2:15 (ESV)
In God’s original creation, he put Adam in the Garden of Eden to work and tend the garden. Work was a gift. It gave Adam a purpose. Work today adds fulfillment to our lives. In Ephesians 2:10 it says:
For we are his (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Life would be boring if we did not have work. Keep in mind we do not always receive a paycheck from our work. Your greatest life work may have nothing to do with your career. A paycheck is one benefit we may receive from our work, but it is not necessarily the only benefit.
We often treat work like a 4-letter word. But work is a good thing. The reason we often despise our work is because …
Work is under the curse
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, till you return to the ground … Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV)
After the fall into sin, work was put under the curse. Work now became associated with toil. While we may be able to find satisfaction and fulfillment in our work, our work is difficult. It is trying. It wears us out and makes us tired. It fills us with stress and anxiety. Sometimes all our hard work seems to go for nothing. There are times when others get the credit for our accomplishments. We indeed look forward to the day when in God’s eternal kingdom our work will be redeemed from the curse. But for now our work is connected to the curse while we live on this earth.
Work does not earn us favor with God
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)
God’s favor towards you is not because of what you accomplished. It is because of the relationship he has with you. He is not proud of you because of anything you have done. He loves you because of who he made you to be. Our work does not earn us anything in God’s eyes. Stop trying to win God’s approval. Jesus has already won God’s approval for you.
Work honors God
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
The work we do is to honor God. It is a way to say thank you. In Colossians we are told that whatever we do we should do it to the best of our ability to honor God who gave us the ability to work. Others may not always see our effort or recognize our contributions, but thats okay. God sees and that is what really matters. In Romans 12:1 it says:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 (ESV)
In other words our work is our worship. What is the attitude you approach your work with? Is it an attitude that honors God? Does your work point others toward God? While we are sometimes tempted to limit the idea of our work to what we do for a paycheck, we are also attempted to limit our worship to what we do on a Sunday morning. But both are bigger than we realize and in many ways they are one and the same.
Have a very happy Labor Day weekend! May God grant you success in your work.
Linda Messamore says
Thank you for blessing me & helping me grow spiritually! Blessings to you & your church.