The difference between a man and a boy is the willingness to do a man’s work and take a man’s responsibility.”
–Louis L’Amour (Killoe)
“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.”
–Psalm 128:2 (ESV)
———————————-
I thought of writing something else this morning, but since it is Labor Day, the thought went to work. I wrote on Saturday that a person said that we shouldn’t have to work. That is the idealistic socialist. Nothing in life comes free. But then, read Proverbs and the verses regarding the sluggard. All he wants is something given to him, on a platter if possible, without effort for he thinks he is worth it.
Listen, no one can be truly happy without work. My Mom loved to work, she often held three jobs and worked full time until she was in her mid-eighties. My Dad said that the most important lesson that Grandpa (his Dad) taught him was the value of hard work. Many years ago, I did a study on joy and I found out that joy and work are dependent upon each other. Natural joy may be fleeting, but the purest form of natural joy is enjoyment of work. That thought goes into the idea of spiritual joy as well, for when we are working for the Lord, serving Him, then we find contentment and joy.
Someone has said, “As a remedy against all ills–poverty, sickness, and melancholy–only one thing is absolutely necessary: a liking for work.” Booker T. Washington said that “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” No wonder the couch potatoes complain. Work! Who me? Pass me another potato chip. We must understand that work is a way in which we fulfill God’s purposes for our lives. In fact, working should be a form of worship. The old Puritan Work Ethic that was so long prevalent in our country said that all work is from the Lord and that we should do it to the best of our ability.
Right from the beginning God showed that man was to work. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, ESV)
Then Paul writes that, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, ESV) This is a statement of the Puritan Work Ethic. I have shared this before, but it fits here. When I was in the Air Force, I was getting down in spirit. The sergeant was always on my case. One day, while working in the field, I heard a voice. It was the closest I’ve come to hearing the audible voice of God, but it resonated deep in my soul, “Who are you working for?” I remember looking around. Then I heard in my soul, “Are you working for that sergeant, or for the Air Force? Or are you working for Me?” It totally changed my life, my attitude, my perspective, and especially my work ethic.
There is so much to say regarding work. I might have to do a deeper study, but I will say this that we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV) If we work for the Lord, we will work in contentment. Someone wrote, “When we live out our God-given callings, our everyday labor will become part of God’s plan to bless the world through us.”
“Too many people who are looking for a helping hand don’t even try to lift one of their own fingers,” unknown writer with plenty of truth. As we read in Proverbs, “The sluggard craves and gets nothing…” (13:4, NIV) One way to fail as a parent, one way to bring demise to a nation, is to not teach the value of work. Work is/was designed by God, not for punishment, but for development of character. Some will not agree with this, but I don’t believe that when we get to heaven that we’re going to float around on clouds, playing harps, and eating spiritual bonbons. There will be some kind of work for us to do. God is a God of work, therefore, why should we expect less?
So on this Labor Day, thank God that you live in this great nation, built upon the back of hard workers. Men and women with callouses on their hands, people with goals and the fortitude to meet those goals. Samuel Gompers wrote, “Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment. In the last analysis, the welfare of the workers depends upon their own initiative.” It is not just happenstance that this country has set aside a day to honor and recognize the “worker.”
“Well, hey, hey, the working man, the working man like me,
Never been on welfare, and that’s one place I will not be
‘Cause I’ll be working
As long as my two hands are fit to use.”
–Merle Haggard
———————————-
I thought of writing something else this morning, but since it is Labor Day, the thought went to work. I wrote on Saturday that a person said that we shouldn’t have to work. That is the idealistic socialist. Nothing in life comes free. But then, read Proverbs and the verses regarding the sluggard. All he wants is something given to him, on a platter if possible, without effort for he thinks he is worth it.
Listen, no one can be truly happy without work. My Mom loved to work, she often held three jobs and worked full time until she was in her mid-eighties. My Dad said that the most important lesson that Grandpa (his Dad) taught him was the value of hard work. Many years ago, I did a study on joy and I found out that joy and work are dependent upon each other. Natural joy may be fleeting, but the purest form of natural joy is enjoyment of work. That thought goes into the idea of spiritual joy as well, for when we are working for the Lord, serving Him, then we find contentment and joy.
Someone has said, “As a remedy against all ills–poverty, sickness, and melancholy–only one thing is absolutely necessary: a liking for work.” Booker T. Washington said that “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” No wonder the couch potatoes complain. Work! Who me? Pass me another potato chip. We must understand that work is a way in which we fulfill God’s purposes for our lives. In fact, working should be a form of worship. The old Puritan Work Ethic that was so long prevalent in our country said that all work is from the Lord and that we should do it to the best of our ability.
Right from the beginning God showed that man was to work. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, ESV)
Then Paul writes that, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, ESV) This is a statement of the Puritan Work Ethic. I have shared this before, but it fits here. When I was in the Air Force, I was getting down in spirit. The sergeant was always on my case. One day, while working in the field, I heard a voice. It was the closest I’ve come to hearing the audible voice of God, but it resonated deep in my soul, “Who are you working for?” I remember looking around. Then I heard in my soul, “Are you working for that sergeant, or for the Air Force? Or are you working for Me?” It totally changed my life, my attitude, my perspective, and especially my work ethic.
There is so much to say regarding work. I might have to do a deeper study, but I will say this that we are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV) If we work for the Lord, we will work in contentment. Someone wrote, “When we live out our God-given callings, our everyday labor will become part of God’s plan to bless the world through us.”
“Too many people who are looking for a helping hand don’t even try to lift one of their own fingers,” unknown writer with plenty of truth. As we read in Proverbs, “The sluggard craves and gets nothing…” (13:4, NIV) One way to fail as a parent, one way to bring demise to a nation, is to not teach the value of work. Work is/was designed by God, not for punishment, but for development of character. Some will not agree with this, but I don’t believe that when we get to heaven that we’re going to float around on clouds, playing harps, and eating spiritual bonbons. There will be some kind of work for us to do. God is a God of work, therefore, why should we expect less?
So on this Labor Day, thank God that you live in this great nation, built upon the back of hard workers. Men and women with callouses on their hands, people with goals and the fortitude to meet those goals. Samuel Gompers wrote, “Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment. In the last analysis, the welfare of the workers depends upon their own initiative.” It is not just happenstance that this country has set aside a day to honor and recognize the “worker.”
“Well, hey, hey, the working man, the working man like me,
Never been on welfare, and that’s one place I will not be
‘Cause I’ll be working
As long as my two hands are fit to use.”
–Merle Haggard