December 2, 2018 WORK----A GOOD THING
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
Psalm 90:17 “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-yes, establish the work of our hands.
Genesis 2:3 “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all His work of creating that He had done.”
Ephesians 4:28 “He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”
For many, work has gotten a bad rap. However, in God’s kingdom-which we are a part of if we belong to Him-work is called for. Just as God is a producer, just as God is creative, and just as God is a worker, so are we to be because He has given us a new nature like His. In the very beginning, God told Adam to take dominion, and taking dominion involves work. One reason that work has taken on a negative connotation for many is a wrong view and understanding of work. Why we work is the all-important question. One common view of work is that work is the means of getting money to buy what we want and what we say we need. In our culture, we want a lot, thus we have to work harder, longer, and smarter if we are to have sufficient funds to satisfy our wants. Another wrong motive for work is that of allowing our work to define who we are; work becomes our badge, so to speak. (We should feel good about our work, and we should get some fulfillment in our work-but not see our work as our identity in life.) Both of these motives for work can indeed cause one to become a work-alcoholic, which in turn damages our relationships and even our health and ultimately leads to a sense of emptiness and burn-out. Work as God designed it, has purpose, and work that is done in keeping with His design bears good fruit. Obviously, one primary reason for working is to provide for our needs; we should view the opportunity to work in order to supply our needs as a blessing. (The key point here is how we define our needs.) Work is also an opportunity for us to in some way express our creativity, which is a part of our new nature; even in the most menial job, there is a place to be creative. Another result of a job well done is that it brings a sense of satisfaction about completing the task. (Personally, the results of the work I do is a motivation to do the work.) Also, a very important reason for working is to be able to provide for those who are in need. Ephesians 4:28. One somewhat subtle benefit of work is that it keeps our minds and hands from being idle; Proverbs 16 tells us that idle hands are the devils workshop. Work brings with it another benefit; work is a part of the cycle of life; we work, we get hungry, we get physically tired, then we sleep well. And, by working, we appreciate the ‘off’ days . As stated above, work should not be our identity, but our identity in the Lord should be seen in the work we do. Dennis Peacock said that ‘We were not born to be employed, but to be deployed.” When we understand this cycle and when we embrace it, we just simply do better in life. You may not be employed full-time, but whatever you state in life may be, be a producer in some way, and put your creativity to work. Let us recognize the lie that says that work is a curse and that we work only because we have too; let us embrace what God says about work and let us walk in our true identity by engaging in productive work and activity with a purpose. When done as unto the Lord, all work is honorable. We are made in the image of God; we can also be about work and we can be creative just as our Father God worked and was creative. So, ‘put your hands to the plow,’ and be about what and who you were created to be.
Luke 9:62 “Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Psalm 90:17 “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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