I grew up with a Dad that worked hard, really hard. I remember when we first moved to Pensacola, Florida back in 1989 and my Dad went to work for a company building decks for people’s houses. He would come home from a long day out in the sun and his shoulders would be purple from sunburn. He knew how to work hard and work smart! Sometimes I would wonder, why didn’t God make life a little bit easier on us? Why do we have to work so hard?

What do you think? Does God punish us by making us work? Your answer to that may depend on whether you like your job, whether you like your coworkers, whether you like your boss.

Gen-2-15

Actually, the Bible says that work is a gift from God! Genesis 2:15 says, “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” Gardening is work and God gave this to Adam and Eve. God uniquely designed each of us with talents, and it is our responsibility to develop and utilize them. His divine plan includes His people working to provide for themselves.

Plumbers, hairdressers, soldiers, accountants, builders, garbage collectors, and on our list could go, are all following the Biblical command to provide for themselves and their families. This theme of seeing work as both important and a Biblical command is critical to Godonomics, capitalism, and any successful business or family.

Scriptures teach that all of life is spiritual. Work can be as holy as prayer or communion. All of life can be an act of service to God. This is a radically different lens compared to that of Greek philosophers of the first century who taught Dualism. Dualism, or Gnosticism, is the belief that there are “spiritual activities” like prayer and church attendance and “non-spiritual” activities like work, recreation, and career.

The Bible teaches that every moment of every day is to be infused with the potential of pleasing God. There is no distinction between spiritual and non-spiritual for the surrendered Christ follower. Since our work is a way to please God, every day is ripe with the potential for meaning and purpose. Whether you like your job or not… Whether you like your boss or not… The Bible says we can see work through a totally different lens. When we work, we are ultimately working for God. When we use every moment as a spiritual act of worship, we are looking forward to the reward of our labor. There is both an earthly reward (my paycheck and profits) as well as the heavenly reward of hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant.” God will reward us eternally for working diligently and wisely today.

Biblically, God does not punish us by making us work. Instead, it is His divine blessing and design to give us the gift of work.

You should study more about what the Bible says about work. Check out our series, Godonomics. We have DVDs, Study Guides, the hardback book, and the Home School Semester Course currently available. Godonomics in paperback releases July 16!

Thank you again for your prayers and support. We look forward to serving and equipping you to defend your faith.

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