Tuesday, July 7, 2009

How's your work ethic?

From the very beginning, God intended man to work. In Genesis 2:15, the Bible says, “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” After Adam and Eve sinned, a part of their punishment included more difficult labor. Genesis 3:19 says, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”


Paul regulated the proper boundaries of the servant and master relationship in Ephesians 6:5-9 (a parallel is found in Colossians 3:22-4:1). He says that we work as masters or servants as “unto Christ.” That is, I need to be a good employee or employer because it’s not just about treating each other fairly, but it’s about working hard for the Lord’s sake, even if the master or employer is bad (1 Peter 2:18-19). The Thessalonians thought the Lord was coming so quickly that they quit working! The penalty was so severe that those who refused to start working again were to be disfellowshipped (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 10-15).


God created work right from the beginning. A Christian can abuse work, using it as an “idol” which controls one’s life. This is the wrong approach. God intended us to find enjoyment and fulfillment in our work, and those who do not work as they should dishonor God and fail to find the blessings God intended for His creation. Don’t do whatever you can to shirk you work, but work with all your might “in singleness of heart, fearing God” (Colossians 3:22).


Kyle Campbell

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