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While some people think that work is a curse resulting from Adam's transgression against God in the garden of Eden, it is actually quite the opposite. According to Gene Edward Veith,
Though work is a blessing, enjoyed even by Adam and Eve who were employed in the Garden of Eden “to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15), after the Fall we must labor in frustration and sweat: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground” (3:17-19). (Veith, God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life, pp. 15-16)
Thus, while human labor has been adversely affected by the sin of Adam, it continues to be one of the ways we image our Creator (Gen. 1:27). Here are twelve reasons why work is good.
1. God worked to bring the world into existence.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1)
2. Jesus worked to earn our salvation.
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:17)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17)
3. Work was assigned to humans by God before the fall.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Gen. 2:15)
4. Our work should be done for the Lord.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. (Col. 3:23).
5. Our work puts food on our table.
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. (Prov. 12:11)
6. Work gives us the ability to earn our own living.
In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. (Prov. 14:23)
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thess. 3:10-12)
7. Our work enables us to provide for our relatives.
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim. 5:8)
8. Work gives us the opportunity to help those who cannot help themselves.
"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35)
9. We image our Creator in the creative work we do with the material things God has given us.
He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer. (Exod. 35:35)
10. Work brings honor to those who develop their skills.
Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. (Prov. 22:29)
11. God does not forget our work.
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. (Heb. 6:10)
12. God continues to work in every believer today.
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13)
Related Articles:
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Works in the Book of James—“Fruits and Evidences of a True and Lively Faith”
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Jesus Is the True and Faithful Gardener Who Cares for Your Soul
Recommended:
God at Work (Redesign): Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
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