Labor Day

The first Monday in September is Labor Day in America. It is an annual tribute to workers, recognizing their contribution to "the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." The first Labor Day holiday was in New York City in 1882. From there it spread from state to state. Congress passed the act making it a holiday in 1894. It used to be marked with parades and picnics "for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families." Of course, the size of many industrial areas makes this impractical today, but we're still recognizing and appreciating laborers ... by having a day away from labor.

Work has gotten a bad name for many. For the lazy, of course, it has always been a bad thing. Many Christians, however, see it as part of the curse.

Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:17-19)

I would submit that this would be a misunderstanding. Note that the first thing God assigned Adam in the garden was ... work. He put him to work tending the garden and naming the animals. So work is part of what makes humans operate correctly. The curse was that it would be hard. Sin has made the necessary and good concept of work into hard labor. But work is good.

You've heard, I'm sure, of "the Puritan work ethic" (or "Protestant work ethic"). German sociologist Max Weber maintained that Capitalism came into being by this work ethic. Believing in a Sovereign God and the biblical "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Eph 2:10), the Puritans argued that everything was for the glory of God including work. They didn't believe in "a job"; they believed in "a vocation", as in "a calling of God". From your pastor to your barber to your blacksmith, each person had a calling in life from God with which they were to bless their families, their community, and the world. "Work" wasn't a burden. It was ministry.

Work isn't a curse. It's a blessing. Paul instructed, "If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either." (2 Thess 3:10) Indeed, he went so far as to say, "if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Tim 5:8) Even God works. Jesus said, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." (John 5:17) He said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (John 6:29) As imitators of God, we ought to work and are blessed to work.

When your work becomes a ministry rather than merely "hard labor", there is indeed a sense of strength, prosperity, and well-being for the country. While most of us today try to find "fulfilling jobs", perhaps finding where God can use us best would be a better option ... or even finding how we can be used where we are. In every case, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (Col 3:17) I think that would definitely include your work. "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." (Col 3:23) Then our labor will be for the glory of God, and that cannot be in vain.