The Bible is a spiritual book that primarily focuses on spiritual issues, beginning with our spiritual need of salvation. It is Gods revelation of Himself to mankind, the Word of God. However, there is an intimate connection between our spirit, soul and body, the three cannot be separated. So when the Lord gives us a spiritual truth that applies to the immaterial part of us, that truth will always, directly or indirectly, affect our bodies and the way that we relate to the natural world. Because we are physical beings our salvation will work itself out in the way we live our lives. The Bible never presents the message of the gospel to us a merely an escape from hell. Our salvation is so much more and a genuine saving faith will impact the way that we live our lives. The point that I'm trying to make is that the Bible is a very practical book. It meets us right where we are and gives us very practical truth about the mundane areas of life. One such area to which the Bible speaks is the area of work. There is a clear work ethic laid out in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, and we would do well to consider what the Bible says about work and then frame our thinking around that.
The word "work", especially in our culture, often
has a negative connotation. We consider work to be hard and inconvenient. Our
idea of success is to get as much as we can with as little work as possible.
And many Christians even have the false idea that work is a part of the curse,
but this is not the case. If it were part of the curse we would have reason to
dislike it, but the fact is that work was a part of the sin-free creation of
God. In Genesis 2:15, before sin entered the world, we read this - "Then
the Lord God took the man and put
him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." The word
translated "cultivate" literally means to labor or to work. So God
put Adam in the garden to work the land, He gave him a job to do. Ever since
the creation work has been a part of Gods purpose for man. In Revelation
chapter 22 we read of the eternal state, and here we find out that work is
still a part of Gods plan for us, even after the curse is done away with. We
read in Revelation 22:3 - "There will no longer be any curse; and the
throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve
Him." We are going to serve the Lord forever and ever. I'm not sure what
all that will involve, but I can assure you that it will not be burdensome or
mundane. Before the curse God intended for man to work. After the curse God
still has work for us to do. And for all of time in between God intends for us
to work.
The avoidance of work and the
idea that other people are responsible to give us everything that we want is
becoming more and more prevalent in our culture. Even in the church today
people are getting the idea that if we need money then the church is obligated
to give it to us. I don't know if this is common in the international church,
but it's definitely not uncommon in the churches of America. Since this kind of
thinking is prevalent in our culture it has also seeped into the church. But
regardless of popular opinion, this kind of thinking is wrong. It's contrary to
the principles presented in the Word of God. As believers the Lord gives us
instruction concerning this in the New Testament, but before we even get to
that, the Lord gives very practical instruction on this subject to the nation
of Israel in the Old Testament. In the books of the Law the Lord was giving His
people instruction concerning how to live as a nation among nations. This is a
fundamental difference between the Old and New Testaments. So in Leviticus
chapter 19 when the Lord is giving His people instructions about the harvesting
of their crops He says to them in Leviticus 19:9-10 - "Now when you reap
the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field,
nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your
vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall
leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God." Well what does this teach us concerning
work? You'll notice in this passage that the reason that the people were not to
reap the very corners of their harvest, the reason they were not to pick their fields
clean, was so that the needy and the strangers could have something to eat. I
find the Lords plan of provision for the needy to be ingenious. In many
cultures, including our own, we have systems by which we give help to the
needy, we support those who need help. But what is so unique about the program
that the Lord sets up is that if the poor and needy were going to get something
to eat they had to work for it. The people weren't instructed to gather in their
harvest and then set aside a portion for the poor. They simply left it in the
fields and the needy would come and gather it themselves. They would work for
it. This is what we see being worked out in the book of Ruth. Ruth and Naomi
were very needy people and every day Ruth would go out into someones field and
glean their daily food. I think we would do well as a nation to follow this
pattern. By all means, help those who are in need, but free handouts make
people lazy. A good work ethic is good for a nation, and the Lord lays out this
principle for His own people in His Word.
The Lord deals with this issue in more depth for the church
in the New Testament. In Ephesians 4:28 we read - "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 to share with one who has need." We are
instructed beyond a shadow of a doubt to labor, to work with our hands. Why? So
that we will have something to share with the one who is in need. There are some
in the church who take verses like this to the leaders of a given church and
try to use them to get a handout, but this verse isn't instructing the one in
need to go around begging people for money, it's instructing people to work.
Are there times when good, hardworking people are in need? Yes, and the Lord
has a way of providing for His own. I've seen it many times where a certain
hardworking believer has had a need and the Lord laid it on the heart of
someone in His church to share with them financially. The focus in this verse
is to work what is good in order that you may have something to share, not to
make sure that everyone else is meeting your needs.
In both of the letters to the Thessalonians the subject of work is talked about. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says - "To make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need." The world around us is watching us. Not just looking to see whether we go to church on Sundays but they're observing our conduct throughout the week. They're watching how we work. That's why we're told in Colossians 3 to do our work with all our hearts, as to the Lord and not to men. If you do your work, whatever it may be, whether at home or at a job somewhere, if you do it in a half-hearted way or give it less then your best, what is that communicating to others about your relationship with the God whom you claim to know? Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. The Lord provides for the majority of our needs through some sort of job, though this isn't always the case. There are some believers who don't have the luxury of a steady paycheck. They are serving the Lord in one ministry or another and they are hard workers. The Lord often provides for these people through the gifts of the saints. But for the majority of us the Lord provides through some sort of job. When we have a steady paycheck coming in we tend to forget that the Lord is actually the one who is providing that money for us, but that money and that job are both gifts from God. He will provide for our needs, and He often does that by providing us with work. We really have no right to expect the Lord to provide for us if we're not willing to work.
In both of the letters to the Thessalonians the subject of work is talked about. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says - "To make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need." The world around us is watching us. Not just looking to see whether we go to church on Sundays but they're observing our conduct throughout the week. They're watching how we work. That's why we're told in Colossians 3 to do our work with all our hearts, as to the Lord and not to men. If you do your work, whatever it may be, whether at home or at a job somewhere, if you do it in a half-hearted way or give it less then your best, what is that communicating to others about your relationship with the God whom you claim to know? Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. The Lord provides for the majority of our needs through some sort of job, though this isn't always the case. There are some believers who don't have the luxury of a steady paycheck. They are serving the Lord in one ministry or another and they are hard workers. The Lord often provides for these people through the gifts of the saints. But for the majority of us the Lord provides through some sort of job. When we have a steady paycheck coming in we tend to forget that the Lord is actually the one who is providing that money for us, but that money and that job are both gifts from God. He will provide for our needs, and He often does that by providing us with work. We really have no right to expect the Lord to provide for us if we're not willing to work.
The apostle Paul addresses this in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
where we read - "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life
and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you
yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in
an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying
for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we
would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right
to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you
would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give
you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat,
either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life,
doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command
and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own
bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good." The
apostle here sets himself and his fellow workers up as an example that we are
told to follow. If anyone had a right to be supported by the church it was the
apostles. And yet he specifically says that they worked night and day so that
they would not be a burden to the church. If they did this how much more should
we? They worked constantly, night and day, in order to support themselves, and
they did it as an example for us to follow. Don't be a burden that other people
have to bear, rather bear one anothers burdens. Don't grow weary of doing good.
Perform with your hands what is good in order that you may have to share with
one who has need.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says - "And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need."
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