The Christian and Work

Introduction

A. My grandparents grew up for the most part lived most of their lives in rural Western Kentucky. They were not wealthy people in their early years. My paternal grandfather had to quite school in the 8th grade in order to help provide for his family. My maternal grandfather spent his last couple of teenage years living with another family serving basically as an apprentice to relieve the financial struggle of his biological family. These were the days of little government help. These families learned to live on very little and for the most part to take care of themselves. From our perspective these were hard financial times. From their perspective this was life and one had to do what was necessary to take care of their family.

B. Their basic view was their responsibility was to take care of themselves and their families and you helped out your neighbor as much as you could. Work was that which was necessary to survive in this world. It had nothing to do with getting ahead. It was about surviving and providing. My parents were raised with the same mindset. However, things began to shift from survival mode to advancing. It was possible for a person through hard work to advance. One might be able to move from survival to a few luxuries. But there was still a belief in hard work and a belief that no one owed you anything.

C. My brother and I were raised with the same mindset. I was 12 at the time when a group of friends were going to the movies and they invited me to go. I wanted to go but didn’t have any money. I asked my Dad for the money. He gave it to me with these words, “Don’t ever ask me for money again.” I got the message. But with my generation there was a shift. Hard work took place but parents began to give their children more luxuries. As the wealth of the United States expanded so did the choices available. And as families became wealthier it wasn’t necessary for children to work. And with that came the sense of expectation. Each generation was supposed to have more than the generation before.

D. We have discovered that this isn’t the case. In the past decade the economic brakes have been applied to our economy. The expectation of having more and more has resulted in more grumbling and complaining when things are not as we think they ought to be. I can remember being told “work hard and maybe you will get it.” I say all of this not to demean the present generation but to try to paint a picture of generational change we have seen over the past 100 years. We are going to look at a brief overview of work. What did God intend for his creation about work? What is to the Christian’s attitude toward work? We will try to apply principles that would apply to any culture or generation.

Scripture

A. Let’s start at the beginning. Genesis 2:15 says that God put the man in the garden to work it and to take care of it. Work. It isn’t a curse. From the beginning it was part of the function of the newly created. What did the man have to do in the garden? I can speculate. After sin came into the world, the ground fought against the man. That tells me that previously the ground worked with man. In other words, my speculation is that the man worked and tilled the ground to produce food. With the coming of sin, the ground fought against him. What was once easy was now going to be difficult. Work was part of God’s plan from the beginning. So here is principle one — God created us to work. Principle two follows on the heals — sin means that work is supposed to be difficult. There are supposed to be challenges, frustrations, setbacks, sweat. Therefore, work is one of God’s gifts; sin makes work difficult.

B. Colossians 3 is in the household code part of Paul’s letter. It is the application part of the letter. It is similar to what Paul wrote in Ephesians, however, it is more brief. There are statements about wives, husbands, children, fathers, and then Paul turns to slaves and masters. Slavery was a common part of the 1st century world. And Paul addresses how slaves and masters who are Christians should conduct themselves in the household. Some want to debate that Paul doesn’t write against slavery. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 7:20-21 that being a slave doesn’t impede one’s walk with Christ; however, if possible one should gain freedom. This is not an endorsement of slavery but an apostolic injunction about how to live for Christ as a slave or as one who owns slaves. Many have taken this text and applied it to the employee/employer situation and I think the principles fit. Three principles:

1. First, work is a heart condition. Paul recognized that some people work hard when someone is watching but then slack off when no one is looking. Many of us have been told to slow down in our work by others. The heart and work are connected.

2. Second, work is connected to Jesus. This principle is one that needs to be ingrained in us. We are not working for an employer; we are working for Jesus. The idea is that our work is a reflection on Christ and that he is our employer.

3. Third, treat your employees right just as you want your Master to treat you right. Having people under you doesn’t give you the freedom to mistreat them. We treat others the way we know we want God to treat us — with mercy and grace.

C. Ephesians 4:28. The thief is to stop thieving and to begin using his hands for good rather than evil. The ultimate outcome is to have something to share with others. The principle our work is not exclusive. It is to result in being able to have something to share with someone else. These principles are straightforward. So what applications are there from these principles? We have to be cautious here and not make applications that go too far nor applications that do not go far enough.

Application

A. First, one’s attitude toward work affects outcome. There is nothing in scripture that says one must not change jobs. But whatever your work, we are to have an attitude which understands that what we are doing goes beyond the immediate. God is watching us work. He is honored when we do our jobs well. Our motto as Christians is “We work for God.” Our employers can make life unpleasant; our employers may take advantage of us; but the attitude of our heart will go a long way to understanding that our job isn’t about us; it is about reflecting Jesus. So we are pleasant to our co-workers even not engaging. We do not bad mouth our employer. If we believe we have been treated unfairly we pray about such. We pray for strength to continue; for our employer to see things differently; but mostly we pray for boldness to continue. Someone will say we should go to speak to our employer. Perhaps. Again there is nothing that says you have to stay there, but if one talks with the employer it must be with great respect, dignity, and honor — after all you are working for Jesus.

B. Second, as a consequence of sin, work is hard. Work is challenging. It is to push us. But we are also expected to work hard. I don’t know if the first man knew sweating before sin but he certainly knew it afterwards. In order to gain a harvest, he had to sweat. There are those who will try to do the least amount possible and still maintain a paycheck. This says something about the heart of the person. It says something about not understanding the spiritual truth about work. Work is hard requiring hard work. There is no guarantee in scripture. There are truths — one doesn’t get a harvest without sowing a seed but not all seed will produce a harvest. That’s part of the challenge. Those who wait for another to supply their needs or desires does not understand the nature of work and the expectations of God.

1. On a side note, we live in a time of retirement where “work” ceases or individuals may receive some type of “assistance.” I do not want to be misunderstood — nothing wrong with either when legitimate. That is, the person who gets assistance when they are capable of working is being deceitful and such is not commended by God.

2. However, legitimate assistance nor retirement does not mean no work. The work changes. The challenge is living on less in many cases and recognizing that one must be frugal and wise in how this money is spent so as to supply needs.

3. Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” The person who will not work must not be bailed out. Paul goes on in that text and says there are those who are not busy working they are instead busybodies. So work is expected of all who can and those who cannot work still are expected to be busy assisting in other ways.

C. Third, a sense of entitlement goes against the very nature of the gospel. We are undeserving for God’s salvation. It is by grace that we have been saved. But in receiving that salvation we behave and think in ways that reflect his goodness. To demand his salvation is to diminish his holiness and to receive that mercy with no change of conduct is to presume upon his grace. We, thus, approach our job with a sense of thankfulness; with an understanding that we are not entitled; and that we behave and think in such ways that recognizes that we have been given a gift.

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