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 3:19 (New International Version)
When Adam was created by God, one of his jobs was to tend the Garden of Eden. This must have been more of a pleasure than a duty. After all this was paradise and God put the Garden in place. Adam needed only keep it admirable and enjoy the fruits that he harvested.
However Adam and Eve's sin brought a new dynamic into their lives. They were cast from the garden paradise into a harsh world where they would now have to toil for their food. Labor was part of the curse of man's downfall. To this day someone has to toil in order to produce what we need to live. We all must do whatever job we have been called to do in order to survive.
"If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)
Traditionally, the concept of hard work reaping the benefits of surviving, and even success and prosperity, has been the normal way of thinking. There has always been a ruling class of the wealthy and the powerful who often seem to lead lives of leisure and idleness, but even they are doing the work they were destined to do. Some of us toil and some rule, but we should be most concerned about what we are doing with our own lives and not what others may be doing with theirs. We should be thankful for our jobs, be joyful in the work we do, and do the best we can. We reap what we sow.
All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23 (NIV)
We seem to be moving toward a time of government dependence and social justice in its most negative sense. As joblessness is on the rise in the United States, this country relies more and more on the hard work of those from and in other nations to produce what we need. Our nation sometimes seems like the fat, rich, powerful ruler who lives a lavish and licentious lifestyle while others serve him. Our leaders talk in glowing terms about a future that begins to look a bit bleak when examined realistically.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90:17 (NIV)
The truth is that most of the world is looking in the wrong place for what it really needs. The answers are not in what our governments or corporations can do for us. Sure, we have earthly work to do, and we should ask for God's blessings upon this work. But we do have a far greater job that has been given to us: God's work.
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
John 6:29 (NIV)
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
9 comments:
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Because in the end, what really matters?
ReplyDeleteHello Lee, I agree with much of what you say, but going back many years when my daughter was about 18yrs, I went into the shop she was an assistant at, this is how the converstation went
ReplyDelete"Mum" yes Donna, (Donna) You know about the Garden of Eden?" Yes I replied, (Donna) If Adam and Eve had only sons Cain and Abel how did any more women come into existence? I was flabbergasted as I had never thought of that one
and do you know what Lee I couldn't give her an answer. I even asked our preacher but he just looked at me and shook his head.
If we begin as dust and go back to dust surely our lives must count for something,
I would like to thank you for all the comments you have made on my posts, I get so absorbed in reading and writing I mostly forget to say thanks to the followers who make my blog what it is today.
Have a good week.
Yvonne.
We are God's workers. I believe we are to represent him in all we do. Really great post, Lee. Love this.
ReplyDeleteTeresa
Good post Lee, great scriptures to show that work is first, a gift from God to man, and second, a responsibility we have to fulfill.
ReplyDeleteAdam originally worked in a perfect environment, then worked under the curse of the fall. We will again work when the heavens and earth are re-created.
Working provides money - four purposes of money are 1) to give to God; 2) to pay our taxes; 3) provide for our families; 4) give to others
What we do does count. If we take I Cor 10:31 seriously and work for the glory of God rather than self. At the Bema Seat we will be judged and rewarded based on what we have done for God's glory. The sad thing is all that we work for (normally) will not matter and will be all burned up.
I would encourage believers to forget the American Dream they have been sucked into and those who know God and are known by Him to work for the Kingdom while it is yet day and night has not fallen, then no man can work the Scripture says.
This was a great post, Lee. I'm trying this very moment to remind myself of this fact.
ReplyDeleteJules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
Hi Arlee,
ReplyDeleteI do love your Sunday posts. I've said it before, you have a wonderful way with describing and helping us to understand scripture. Just beautiful.
I love hard work. Nothing satisfies me more. It has been a rough couple of weeks for me and your reminder of where to look for the answers is just what I needed. Thank you. Love Di ♥
My thanks to all of you for reading todays post and leaving your comments. Special thanks to Gregg for providing such an elucidating comment as always.
ReplyDeleteYvonne -- You might want to pose your question to Gregg, but I will give you the answer as I understand it. Adam and Eve were created in perfection until their fall thru sin. Even at that, since they and their children were the first humans, their would have been no genetic flaws initially to pass on to offspring. Adam lived for over 900 years and I suppose Eve did as well. They would have been able to produce children for a very long time also, so they would have had many children between them. There was no sin in the marriage of brothers and sisters at first so there would have been inter family marriage at first. In 900 years time after all of these siblings produced generation after generation there would have relatively soon been a large population of peoples who would have been growing relationally more distant until the bans on sibling marriage would have come into effect.
This is my nutshell explanation. I'm surprised that your pastor could not have explained this.
I hope it helps as a starting point.
Adam and Eve strike me as mythology, not fact. They are Jungian archetypes who represent that which is common to all people, everywhere, in every culture or religion. The man, the woman, the sin. I'm not real clear on the sin element in this, but it does seem to be intricate to the archetype.
ReplyDeleteTrish and Rob -- You guys are up late. I thought you might see my comment tomorrow and catch my Monday blog post.
ReplyDeleteI normally only post about the Bible on Sundays and the post is directed to a more specific audience than my posts on the other days of the week. I avoid debating any points from these Bible study posts and generally leave very minimal response to comments for these posts. They are not intended to proselytize, but to merely elucidate Biblical concepts for myself and the readers who are interested.
I invite you and encourage you to visit my other daily posts and let the fur fly if you like. In fact, I designate Thursday as a specific debate day where I offer topics for argument and discussion. I love disagreement on my Mon-Fri. posts and often don't get it because people don't seem to like to disagree much of the time. You usually can't disagree with my Saturday posts cause they are almost always correct.
Hope to hear from you again!
Lee