Labor

Who's the Boss? 4 September 2016

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.