by Pete Lee
Last month, we examined 3 unbiblical views of work – Work Idolatry, Work Dichotomy, and Work Utilitarianism. This month we will answer the question – What is a biblical view of work?
The Bible teaches four reasons why work is good in and of itself. First, God is a worker. Gen 2:2 says, “And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” God began working on Day 1 of creation, and God’s work is described as good (Gen 1:31). But had God finished working? No – God worked after creation and continues to work today. In John 5:17, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and then said, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." Psalm 104 describes how God works to sustain nature. He causes the grass to grow, the sun to shine, and sustains animals and people. In Deuteronomy 11, we learn that God works through the history of mankind to accomplish His purposes. Christ’s death on the cross is His work of atonement, providing for forgiveness to Christians.
Second, work is good because God commands us to work for Him. In Gen 1:28, God commands Adam and Eve to “rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And when did God command men to rule over the earth? Before the Fall and before sin (We will look more at the curse and how it affects work later in our series). But was God commanding only Adam and Eve to do a specific work? No – Eph 6:7 says, “With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” And Col 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” Even though we are working for employers, God is commanding us to work for Him. Whether we are construction workers, healthcare professionals, office workers, insurance people, or whatever we do for a living, we don’t just work for our supervisors, for our customers, or for ourselves. We work for God when we work for people. It’s as if God is telling us to finish this project, make those copies, call those people, and take care of this by Friday. Christ himself is telling us to do it as Col 3:24 says, “...It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
Third, work is good because it is a gift from God. Eccl 3:13 says, “moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor-- it is the gift of God.” God gives us work as a gift which allows us to live and enjoy life. Work is the medium which allows us to enjoy life (Eccl 5:18). The theme of Ecclesiastes is that everything in life is vanity, a breath, a vapor that passes away. Ecclesiastes says that pleasures are a vapor; beauty is a vapor; riches are a vapor; everything is a vapor. In the end, the only thing that matters is to fear God and obey His commands. Ecclesiastes does not say that work is a vapor. It does not say that work is meaningless. It does say that idolatry of work is meaningless. But work in and of itself is a gift from God and should be enjoyed as His gift to us.
Lastly, work is good because it is a witness to the world. How we work shows the character of God to the world. 1 Tim 6:1 says, “Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine may not be spoken against.” The way we work should be a witness for Christ and show the character of God in every respect. Titus 2:9-10 says, “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” Because of our hard work, good attitudes, integrity, and submission, the doctrine of God and our Christian faith should look beautiful to all who see.
Because the Bible teaches us that work is a good thing, we should be thankful for our work, and we should work in a way that glorifies God (Isa 43:7; 1 Cor 10:31) no matter what we do for a living. Next month, we will examine 7 ways to work in a way that glorifies God.