Labor
Get to Work, 31 August 2025
02 09 25 Filed in: Sermons
Get to Work!
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
August 31, 2025
Colossians 3:23-24
Big Idea: Work was created by God to be an act of worship.
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:23-24
Happy Labor Day Weekend…to all of you who don’t have a cabin in Michigan!
I know we’re not supposed to use four-letter words—especially in church—but today we’re talking about a word that causes many to shudder…work! Get to work!
On this Labor Day weekend, I want to share a few passages of scripture concerning labor.
1. Work was God’s idea from the beginning.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
Work was a part of our world before Adam and Eve sinned and brought suffering to our world. The Hebrew word in the original language, avad, means “to work!” In this and other contexts, it referred to the ground, tending to the garden.
The thought of working a garden sounds miserable to me, honestly. As a boy, we had a fairly large garden in the back of our suburban house. I generally enjoyed harvesting the vegetables and didn’t even mind tip-and-tailing the green beans and shucking the corn, but there was one thing I despised…weeds!
My parents did their best to incentivize the task. I remember they bought Tarzan rings for our play structure and if I filled a certain number of 5 gallon buckets full of weeds, they would be mine (and my sister’s). I don’t have the greatest memory in the world, but I’m pretty sure I worked 32 hours every day during the summer in 130 degree heat in order to get those rings! What made it worse was watching the neighbors swim in the pool while I agonized in the back-breaking work. I thought I devised a shortcut and fluffed up the weeds in the bucket to make it appear full, but mom caught on and changed the expectation to push-down full!
As I think about it, if I could garden without weeds, I think I’d like gardening! It’s fun to plant seeds and even water the crops. Of course, the best part is biting into a freshly-picked, home-grown vegetable.
We often think of work as toil because…it often is as a result of what we call The Fall, Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating of the one forbidden tree in the Garden. One tree, Adam! When God announced punishments,
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17)
Work is good. Toil is hard. Needless to say, the Hebrew for toil here is not the same as work in chapter two. In fact, one definition for the word itstsabon is “a pain.” Pulling weeds is a pain, indeed! This is why I’m grateful for grocery stores!
There was work before The Fall and I believe there will be work in the next life, too, but not toil.
2. How we work matters.
Paul wrote to the church in Colossi,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)
We all work. Your labor may be studying for exams, working in an office, caring for your yard, changing diapers, teaching a class, or preparing a meal in your home. Retirees may not work for a pay check, but there is labor in all of our lives, and as I said, that’s by design by God. You may enjoy your labor or despise it, but how we do it matters.
You were made by God, for God, and for God’s glory. That means you need to work for the glory of God. This includes our attitude, our effort, and the quality of what we do. I know we are often motivated by paychecks or report cards, but this text shows us more is at stake…a reward from the Lord. Think about that on Tuesday!
3. Life is more than work.
This is obvious to most of us, especially after the pandemic. Nevertheless, a writer in The Atlantic several years ago devised the term “workism” which is “the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose, calling it a “king of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community.” We’ve all heard about workaholics. I used to tell friends I would’ve been a workaholic except my wife would let me become one! Although it created conflict, I’m grateful she lovingly reminded me life is more than work…especially when there were three little people in our home that needed love and attention…to say nothing of their mom!
Work/life balance is a myth! It’s a tension to manage rather than a problem to solve.
Jesus famously said,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30)
He didn’t say love your work with your whole self but love Him. We can love God by doing good work and we can love our family by providing for them, but work must never become an idol.
4. Work matters…for eternity
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a minister. You are called to
…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
This is not a text for pastors, but for all of us. One Barna study in 2018 showed 72% of Christians in the workforce view their work as having little or no connection to their faith or sense of calling.
Family, wherever you go, you represent Jesus. Some have said you are the only Bible many will ever read. How you love, serve, encourage, care, listen, show patience, kindness, hope, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control as you are filled with the Holy Spirit matters. How you proclaim good news in word and deed to others in the classroom, marketplace, senior center, or field is not only a calling, it’s a privilege.
Growing up in a small church in Brighton, Michigan I used to think we paid the pastor to do the ministry. I now realize his role was to be the ad-minister and equip the congregation to be the ministers. This is often known as the priesthood of all believers.
Peter wrote,
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
This was not written to professional clergy. This is all of our callings. Each day you interact with people I don’t know. You have access to men, women, and children I may never meet. You can invite them to join us on Sundays, of course, which would be great, but even if they’re here an hour a week, you may spend as many as 40 hours a week with them, showing them what it means to follow Jesus.
The late Tim Keller concluded 80% or more of evangelism in the early church was done not by ministers or evangelists” but by Christians working as mothers, tentmakers, and farmers. Many of those you know will never “go to church,” but we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are.
Today I commission you as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ at…fill in the blank of wherever you will find yourself this week…the office, hospital, neighborhood, park, school, wherever. Good news needs to be shared. People need to be loved. Offer a smile, a kind word, ask someone out for a cup of coffee and ask where they are on their spiritual journey. Don’t’ worry about having all the answers. Just engage people in conversations and listen. People today are so lonely and anxious. It doesn’t take much to show love.
5. Rest matters. Just do it!
Like the video said, we need to rest from our work…or more accurately work from our rest. At creation, humans were created on day six. What happened on day seven? Rest. That’s what they did on their first full day of life, meaning they began with rest and then worked rather than the other way around. God designed us to rest…and commanded it. Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and the penalty for breaking it was…death by stoning! We were not made to work seven days a week. Our minds, bodies, and souls need rhythms of rest, weekly days of joy and delight in addition to daily, monthly, and annual breaks for recovery, recalibration, and focused time with God.
So What?
As we prepare to celebrate labor tomorrow, remember these ancient words:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Eat and drink for God’s glory.
Work for God’s glory. It is to be an act of worship.
Rest for God’s glory. He commanded it. He created it for our benefit.
Work was created by God to be an act of worship. Enjoy your holiday and remember on Tuesday…you get to work!
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
August 31, 2025
Colossians 3:23-24
Big Idea: Work was created by God to be an act of worship.
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:23-24
Happy Labor Day Weekend…to all of you who don’t have a cabin in Michigan!
I know we’re not supposed to use four-letter words—especially in church—but today we’re talking about a word that causes many to shudder…work! Get to work!
On this Labor Day weekend, I want to share a few passages of scripture concerning labor.
1. Work was God’s idea from the beginning.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
Work was a part of our world before Adam and Eve sinned and brought suffering to our world. The Hebrew word in the original language, avad, means “to work!” In this and other contexts, it referred to the ground, tending to the garden.
The thought of working a garden sounds miserable to me, honestly. As a boy, we had a fairly large garden in the back of our suburban house. I generally enjoyed harvesting the vegetables and didn’t even mind tip-and-tailing the green beans and shucking the corn, but there was one thing I despised…weeds!
My parents did their best to incentivize the task. I remember they bought Tarzan rings for our play structure and if I filled a certain number of 5 gallon buckets full of weeds, they would be mine (and my sister’s). I don’t have the greatest memory in the world, but I’m pretty sure I worked 32 hours every day during the summer in 130 degree heat in order to get those rings! What made it worse was watching the neighbors swim in the pool while I agonized in the back-breaking work. I thought I devised a shortcut and fluffed up the weeds in the bucket to make it appear full, but mom caught on and changed the expectation to push-down full!
As I think about it, if I could garden without weeds, I think I’d like gardening! It’s fun to plant seeds and even water the crops. Of course, the best part is biting into a freshly-picked, home-grown vegetable.
We often think of work as toil because…it often is as a result of what we call The Fall, Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating of the one forbidden tree in the Garden. One tree, Adam! When God announced punishments,
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17)
Work is good. Toil is hard. Needless to say, the Hebrew for toil here is not the same as work in chapter two. In fact, one definition for the word itstsabon is “a pain.” Pulling weeds is a pain, indeed! This is why I’m grateful for grocery stores!
There was work before The Fall and I believe there will be work in the next life, too, but not toil.
2. How we work matters.
Paul wrote to the church in Colossi,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)
We all work. Your labor may be studying for exams, working in an office, caring for your yard, changing diapers, teaching a class, or preparing a meal in your home. Retirees may not work for a pay check, but there is labor in all of our lives, and as I said, that’s by design by God. You may enjoy your labor or despise it, but how we do it matters.
You were made by God, for God, and for God’s glory. That means you need to work for the glory of God. This includes our attitude, our effort, and the quality of what we do. I know we are often motivated by paychecks or report cards, but this text shows us more is at stake…a reward from the Lord. Think about that on Tuesday!
3. Life is more than work.
This is obvious to most of us, especially after the pandemic. Nevertheless, a writer in The Atlantic several years ago devised the term “workism” which is “the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose, calling it a “king of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community.” We’ve all heard about workaholics. I used to tell friends I would’ve been a workaholic except my wife would let me become one! Although it created conflict, I’m grateful she lovingly reminded me life is more than work…especially when there were three little people in our home that needed love and attention…to say nothing of their mom!
Work/life balance is a myth! It’s a tension to manage rather than a problem to solve.
Jesus famously said,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30)
He didn’t say love your work with your whole self but love Him. We can love God by doing good work and we can love our family by providing for them, but work must never become an idol.
4. Work matters…for eternity
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a minister. You are called to
…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
This is not a text for pastors, but for all of us. One Barna study in 2018 showed 72% of Christians in the workforce view their work as having little or no connection to their faith or sense of calling.
Family, wherever you go, you represent Jesus. Some have said you are the only Bible many will ever read. How you love, serve, encourage, care, listen, show patience, kindness, hope, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control as you are filled with the Holy Spirit matters. How you proclaim good news in word and deed to others in the classroom, marketplace, senior center, or field is not only a calling, it’s a privilege.
Growing up in a small church in Brighton, Michigan I used to think we paid the pastor to do the ministry. I now realize his role was to be the ad-minister and equip the congregation to be the ministers. This is often known as the priesthood of all believers.
Peter wrote,
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
This was not written to professional clergy. This is all of our callings. Each day you interact with people I don’t know. You have access to men, women, and children I may never meet. You can invite them to join us on Sundays, of course, which would be great, but even if they’re here an hour a week, you may spend as many as 40 hours a week with them, showing them what it means to follow Jesus.
The late Tim Keller concluded 80% or more of evangelism in the early church was done not by ministers or evangelists” but by Christians working as mothers, tentmakers, and farmers. Many of those you know will never “go to church,” but we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are.
Today I commission you as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ at…fill in the blank of wherever you will find yourself this week…the office, hospital, neighborhood, park, school, wherever. Good news needs to be shared. People need to be loved. Offer a smile, a kind word, ask someone out for a cup of coffee and ask where they are on their spiritual journey. Don’t’ worry about having all the answers. Just engage people in conversations and listen. People today are so lonely and anxious. It doesn’t take much to show love.
5. Rest matters. Just do it!
Like the video said, we need to rest from our work…or more accurately work from our rest. At creation, humans were created on day six. What happened on day seven? Rest. That’s what they did on their first full day of life, meaning they began with rest and then worked rather than the other way around. God designed us to rest…and commanded it. Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and the penalty for breaking it was…death by stoning! We were not made to work seven days a week. Our minds, bodies, and souls need rhythms of rest, weekly days of joy and delight in addition to daily, monthly, and annual breaks for recovery, recalibration, and focused time with God.
So What?
As we prepare to celebrate labor tomorrow, remember these ancient words:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Eat and drink for God’s glory.
Work for God’s glory. It is to be an act of worship.
Rest for God’s glory. He commanded it. He created it for our benefit.
Work was created by God to be an act of worship. Enjoy your holiday and remember on Tuesday…you get to work!
Who's the Boss? 4 September 2016
06 09 16 Filed in: Sermons
Who’s The Boss?
Colossians 3:23-24
Big Idea
God created us to work…for His glory.
Introduction
Labor Day weekend is summer’s last hurrah, even though we technically have 17 days until autumn begins. In Michigan, schools start after Labor Day, though in Ohio most students have already returned to the classroom.
In the spirit of Labor Day—and being in between our series on Revelation and our upcoming series on the Afterlife—we’re going to look at the subject of labor, of work.
How many of you work?
How many of you are retired?
How many of you wish you were retired?
How many retirees wish you worked?
Most—if not all—of us are influenced by our culture far more than by God’s Word. The Bible is filled with instructions and wisdom regarding finances, family, spirituality, health,…and work.
Do you ever feel overworked, over-regulated, under-leisured, under-benefited? Take heart. This notice was found in the ruins of a London office building. It was dated 1852.
1. This firm has reduced the hours of work, and the clerical staff will now only have to be present between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.
2. Clothing must be of a sober nature. The clerical staff will not disport themselves in raiment of bright colors, nor will they wear hose unless in good repair.
3. Overshoes and topcoats may not be worn in the office, but neck scarves and headwear may be worn in inclement weather.
4. A stove is provided for the benefit of the clerical staff. Coal and wood must be kept in the locker. It is recommended that each member of the clerical staff bring four pounds of coal each day during the cold weather.
5. No member of the clerical staff may leave the room without permission from the supervisor.
6. No talking is allowed during business hours.
7. The craving for tobacco, wine, or spirits is a human weakness, and as such is forbidden to all members of the clerical staff.
8. Now that the hours of business have been drastically reduced, the partaking of food is allowed between 11:30 and noon, but work will not on any account cease.
9. Members of the clerical staff will provide their own pens. A new sharpener is available on application to the supervisor.
10. The supervisor will nominate a senior clerk to be responsible for the cleanliness of the main office and the private office. All boys and juniors will report to him 40 minutes before prayers and will remain after closing hours for similar work. Brushes, brooms, scrubber, and soap are provided by the owners.
11. The owners recognize the generosity of the new labor laws, but will expect a great rise in output of work to compensate for these near Utopian conditions.
If that’s the rulebook, imagine the boss!
On this Labor Day Eve I want to share with you three thoughts about work.
Work is God’s Idea
Many people of work as a bad thing, a necessary evil. The book of Genesis paints a different picture in Paradise, the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. Adam was called to be a gardener.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
The word “work” here is “avad” in the original Hebrew. It means to serve or to work.
How many of you have ever gardened?
How many of you like to garden?
How many of you find gardening to be a chore?
I like gardening…well, parts of it. I love harvesting vegetables, picking fruit off of plants, and even planting seeds in fresh soil.
I don’t like thorns, bee stings, pruning, sunburns, and most of all weeds. I hate weeds!
We’ll come back to that in a moment. Suffice it to say, there are aspects of most work we may find enjoyable and others we’d rather not do.
Would you enjoy gardening if you could simply plant and pick fresh fruits and vegetables in perfect weather free from bugs and weeds? Perhaps.
Adam had more than just a garden to cultivate. He was also a zookeeper!
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (Genesis 2:19-20a)
I can only assume the animals were tame and friendly. There was no fear in paradise. There was no death. All was well…until the Fall. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit and were punished.
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)
Women were given a different kind of work we call labor.
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)
What once was a God-ordained task of caring for creation suddenly became “painful toil.” Work went from daily activity to the difficult pursuit of sustenance. Work, however, is not a curse. It’s what we were created to do—along with relationships. Obviously work has many practical purposes by God’s design, including provisions. Paul wrote,
The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10b)
Even when work is challenging, its absence can have dire consequences. Many studies have sown people who retire early tend to die early. One Oregon State University study concluded even people who described themselves as unhealthy were found likely to live longer if they kept working.
For those of you who are retired, I urge you to remain active, volunteer here at First Alliance and/or with our home missions partners. I know most of you are already doing so and not only is that a benefit to those you serve, it is surely a benefit to you.
Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, wrote, “God created human beings in His own image and part of being ‘in His image’ means that we are workers — like God Himself. That’s where that innate, inner drive for work comes from. Work is part of God’s nature.”
Labor is God’s idea. Humans worked before sin entered the world, and we’ll work in heaven, too, though it will be free from pain and fear, instead fulfilling and filled with purpose.
Follow Your Calling
Many years ago a woman in our church praised me for being a pastor and spoke disparagingly about herself being “only a physical therapist.” I stopped her immediately, knowing her work and its fruit. I said, “Every day you get to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving the broken and hurting, ministering to the needs, earning money for your family, and generously giving of your income to support the church.” Every day she encountered unchurched people I would never meet as I wrote sermons in my office or served parishioners in our congregation. But she’s not alone in her thinking. In fact, I once thought similarly.
I’ll never forget the day I asked my dad for forgiveness. He was surprised and asked what I did wrong. I said, “For years I thought if you were a REAL Christian you’d be a pastor rather than a businessperson. Now I realize it would be as wrong for you to leave the marketplace for vocational ministry as it would be for me to leave my church job and work in the marketplace.” It’s an issue of calling.
God calls some to be pastors and some to be business people.
God calls some to be overseas missionaries and others to serve in American schools.
God calls some to minister to the wealthy suburbs and others to the urban poor.
God calls all of His children to make disciples.
God calls all of His children to ministry.
One of my favorite moments this year at First Alliance was introducing Phil Eikost for a Missions Moment segment. I think some wondered what was going on, if he was taking a trip overseas or something. Instead he announced he is a missionary at the House of Meats in Toledo. He sees his work as his calling, even when it’s hard and frustrating. He doesn’t always look forward to his long hours at the “office,” but he knows it’s what God has called him to do and looks for ways to love and serve customers and co-workers.
We are all wired uniquely by God. He calls us to do different things in different places. The key is not what we do compared to others, but rather to be faithful to our calling. It is a sacred act of worship.
Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10a)
Which leads us to our attitude toward work. Zig Ziglar said
Attitude, Not Aptitude, Determines Altitude
The better your attitude, the more you will soar in life. What is your attitude toward your work? Your boss? Your co-workers? We all work or have worked in environments we would love to change, yet often the only thing we can change is our attitude. Often our approach to work radically impacts our outputs.
In New Testament times, the Roman Empire ruled with the promise of security, prosperity, and order. Women, children, and slaves were essentially property to the men. They had no rights. Paul wrote multiple letters to early Christians, many (most?) of whom were abused. To those in Colossi he said,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)
These laborers were not necessarily working for a paycheck but rather food, shelter, life. People became slaves not because of their race but rather because they were debt slaves who were bankrupt or the result of military conquest. Paul wrote similar words to the church in Ephesus:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8)
The context helps explain the verse which follows.
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. (Ephesians 6:9)
The point is simple: God is watching. He’s the boss! We are ultimately to love, serve, and worship Him. Your human boss may give you a performance review, but God will someday give you a life review. He will right every wrong. He will bring eternal justice. This does not mean we are to be doormats and ignore injustice, but our attitude should always be focused on God and what He thinks. He knows all. One day He will judge and reward all. What will he say about you and your work?
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Colossians 3:23-24
Big Idea
God created us to work…for His glory.
Introduction
Labor Day weekend is summer’s last hurrah, even though we technically have 17 days until autumn begins. In Michigan, schools start after Labor Day, though in Ohio most students have already returned to the classroom.
In the spirit of Labor Day—and being in between our series on Revelation and our upcoming series on the Afterlife—we’re going to look at the subject of labor, of work.
How many of you work?
How many of you are retired?
How many of you wish you were retired?
How many retirees wish you worked?
Most—if not all—of us are influenced by our culture far more than by God’s Word. The Bible is filled with instructions and wisdom regarding finances, family, spirituality, health,…and work.
Do you ever feel overworked, over-regulated, under-leisured, under-benefited? Take heart. This notice was found in the ruins of a London office building. It was dated 1852.
1. This firm has reduced the hours of work, and the clerical staff will now only have to be present between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.
2. Clothing must be of a sober nature. The clerical staff will not disport themselves in raiment of bright colors, nor will they wear hose unless in good repair.
3. Overshoes and topcoats may not be worn in the office, but neck scarves and headwear may be worn in inclement weather.
4. A stove is provided for the benefit of the clerical staff. Coal and wood must be kept in the locker. It is recommended that each member of the clerical staff bring four pounds of coal each day during the cold weather.
5. No member of the clerical staff may leave the room without permission from the supervisor.
6. No talking is allowed during business hours.
7. The craving for tobacco, wine, or spirits is a human weakness, and as such is forbidden to all members of the clerical staff.
8. Now that the hours of business have been drastically reduced, the partaking of food is allowed between 11:30 and noon, but work will not on any account cease.
9. Members of the clerical staff will provide their own pens. A new sharpener is available on application to the supervisor.
10. The supervisor will nominate a senior clerk to be responsible for the cleanliness of the main office and the private office. All boys and juniors will report to him 40 minutes before prayers and will remain after closing hours for similar work. Brushes, brooms, scrubber, and soap are provided by the owners.
11. The owners recognize the generosity of the new labor laws, but will expect a great rise in output of work to compensate for these near Utopian conditions.
If that’s the rulebook, imagine the boss!
On this Labor Day Eve I want to share with you three thoughts about work.
Work is God’s Idea
Many people of work as a bad thing, a necessary evil. The book of Genesis paints a different picture in Paradise, the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. Adam was called to be a gardener.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
The word “work” here is “avad” in the original Hebrew. It means to serve or to work.
How many of you have ever gardened?
How many of you like to garden?
How many of you find gardening to be a chore?
I like gardening…well, parts of it. I love harvesting vegetables, picking fruit off of plants, and even planting seeds in fresh soil.
I don’t like thorns, bee stings, pruning, sunburns, and most of all weeds. I hate weeds!
We’ll come back to that in a moment. Suffice it to say, there are aspects of most work we may find enjoyable and others we’d rather not do.
Would you enjoy gardening if you could simply plant and pick fresh fruits and vegetables in perfect weather free from bugs and weeds? Perhaps.
Adam had more than just a garden to cultivate. He was also a zookeeper!
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (Genesis 2:19-20a)
I can only assume the animals were tame and friendly. There was no fear in paradise. There was no death. All was well…until the Fall. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit and were punished.
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)
Women were given a different kind of work we call labor.
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)
What once was a God-ordained task of caring for creation suddenly became “painful toil.” Work went from daily activity to the difficult pursuit of sustenance. Work, however, is not a curse. It’s what we were created to do—along with relationships. Obviously work has many practical purposes by God’s design, including provisions. Paul wrote,
The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10b)
Even when work is challenging, its absence can have dire consequences. Many studies have sown people who retire early tend to die early. One Oregon State University study concluded even people who described themselves as unhealthy were found likely to live longer if they kept working.
For those of you who are retired, I urge you to remain active, volunteer here at First Alliance and/or with our home missions partners. I know most of you are already doing so and not only is that a benefit to those you serve, it is surely a benefit to you.
Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, wrote, “God created human beings in His own image and part of being ‘in His image’ means that we are workers — like God Himself. That’s where that innate, inner drive for work comes from. Work is part of God’s nature.”
Labor is God’s idea. Humans worked before sin entered the world, and we’ll work in heaven, too, though it will be free from pain and fear, instead fulfilling and filled with purpose.
Follow Your Calling
Many years ago a woman in our church praised me for being a pastor and spoke disparagingly about herself being “only a physical therapist.” I stopped her immediately, knowing her work and its fruit. I said, “Every day you get to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving the broken and hurting, ministering to the needs, earning money for your family, and generously giving of your income to support the church.” Every day she encountered unchurched people I would never meet as I wrote sermons in my office or served parishioners in our congregation. But she’s not alone in her thinking. In fact, I once thought similarly.
I’ll never forget the day I asked my dad for forgiveness. He was surprised and asked what I did wrong. I said, “For years I thought if you were a REAL Christian you’d be a pastor rather than a businessperson. Now I realize it would be as wrong for you to leave the marketplace for vocational ministry as it would be for me to leave my church job and work in the marketplace.” It’s an issue of calling.
God calls some to be pastors and some to be business people.
God calls some to be overseas missionaries and others to serve in American schools.
God calls some to minister to the wealthy suburbs and others to the urban poor.
God calls all of His children to make disciples.
God calls all of His children to ministry.
One of my favorite moments this year at First Alliance was introducing Phil Eikost for a Missions Moment segment. I think some wondered what was going on, if he was taking a trip overseas or something. Instead he announced he is a missionary at the House of Meats in Toledo. He sees his work as his calling, even when it’s hard and frustrating. He doesn’t always look forward to his long hours at the “office,” but he knows it’s what God has called him to do and looks for ways to love and serve customers and co-workers.
We are all wired uniquely by God. He calls us to do different things in different places. The key is not what we do compared to others, but rather to be faithful to our calling. It is a sacred act of worship.
Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10a)
Which leads us to our attitude toward work. Zig Ziglar said
Attitude, Not Aptitude, Determines Altitude
The better your attitude, the more you will soar in life. What is your attitude toward your work? Your boss? Your co-workers? We all work or have worked in environments we would love to change, yet often the only thing we can change is our attitude. Often our approach to work radically impacts our outputs.
In New Testament times, the Roman Empire ruled with the promise of security, prosperity, and order. Women, children, and slaves were essentially property to the men. They had no rights. Paul wrote multiple letters to early Christians, many (most?) of whom were abused. To those in Colossi he said,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)
These laborers were not necessarily working for a paycheck but rather food, shelter, life. People became slaves not because of their race but rather because they were debt slaves who were bankrupt or the result of military conquest. Paul wrote similar words to the church in Ephesus:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8)
The context helps explain the verse which follows.
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. (Ephesians 6:9)
The point is simple: God is watching. He’s the boss! We are ultimately to love, serve, and worship Him. Your human boss may give you a performance review, but God will someday give you a life review. He will right every wrong. He will bring eternal justice. This does not mean we are to be doormats and ignore injustice, but our attitude should always be focused on God and what He thinks. He knows all. One day He will judge and reward all. What will he say about you and your work?