The Gift Of Work
Back in 1894, President Cleveland made Labor Day a national holiday. It began because of labor unions working to give rights to workers and stop mistreatment. People were being worked entirely too hard and there did need to be some boundaries. Labor Day celebrates the accomplishment of fair treatment of workers.
That’s the history of Labor Day, but admittedly, it has always felt like such an odd holiday to me. Perhaps it was because I didn’t understand it’s origins. It just seemed strange to me since childhood that we celebrated work but not working. Again, I didn’t understand the origin of the holiday, but it does seem in modern day that it’s an escape from reality. That work is so awful we need a vacation from it.
But is that the reality of work? That it is always unenjoyable and something we just have to do to pay the bill. Should we always be trudging through the week and living for the weekend?
The answer to those questions really will depend on your worldview.
It does seem like many operate from the ideology that work is a burden we must bear. Monday is the worst day of the week and Friday is the best. People complain about working, going to work, and having to do anything but exactly what they want. It doesn’t serve them, rather it is just a means to pay the bills.
While I’m sure there are a few exceptions, the majority of people do not have horrendous working conditions. Labor unions have more than done their job. Some have even gone from the original goal of freeing people from mistreatment to causing employers to be unable to fire poor workers.
We here on MarGro Farms operate from a Biblical worldview. Therefore, to determine whether or not work is a burden to be carried or a gift to be cherished, we look to what God says about it. Our first que that we were made to work begins back in Genesis 1. First, we see that God worked 6 days and rested on the 7th (Genesis 1:1-2:2). In Genesis 1:26-27, we see that we are created in God’s image. If He worked and it was good, why would we think that it’s bad for us to work? Furthermore, in Genesis 2:15, God commands Adam to work the garden and keep it. All of this was before sin entered the world. There was no evil. From this we conclude that work is good.
Because of sin entering the world, work was made hard (Genesis 3:16-19). It no longer came as easy or as enjoyable as it was meant to be. There is toil in work.
Yet, I do believe that this furthers the fact that we were made to work. One day upon Jesus’ second coming there will be a new heaven and a new earth. In that we will be restored to God’s original, flawless design. And in it, we will be working. If they worked in Eden, we can assure that we will be working in the new heaven and new earth. But it will once again be without pain or the damage of sin.
Now that the biblical foundation has been laid (mind you, I have not come close to covering all the scriptures on work), we can look as to how we are to approach work in our every day.
Obviously, we were made to work. Some were made to be farmers, others to be engineers, others to care for the sick, and still others to raise children and keep homes. All of work is to be done for the glory of God. Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” We don’t have to be in full time ministry to be serving God. We serve Him right where we are doing the work that we do. We can serve Him in checking a customer out in a grocery store or plowing a field or in guiding for tiny hearts and minds. All work can and is meant to glorify God.
We on the farm try to operate by the verses on our milk bottles. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive your inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24
We love serving others, but serving God truly helps us strive the most for excellence. We know one day we have to answer to Him. Therefore, we work to be honest, hard workers. We’re not perfect, but we do try to do our work well without grumbling. While we’re working towards our goals, we are also working to be content right in the season and toil we’re currently in. Keeping a grateful heart through the tough times is one way we can bring glory to God. This job is also very hard and it would be easy to cut corners, but we know that we would have to answer for those corners cut. It is much harder doing herdshares than selling milk for pasteurization, but we can serve people directly this way. We can have an impact on people’s lives and pray for them in ways we couldn’t if we went the easier route. We work to serve others and glorify God in and through our work on the farm.
You can do the same thing in your work. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you can glorify God right there in your work. I’ll conclude this blog with my favorite Elizabeth Elliot quote who has said thing much more eloquently than I ever could:
“This job was given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.”
