The Joy of Work

A recent popular song on Christian radio says, "Come to the Father you who work, and you'll work no more." Something inside me wants to shout "Yes!" when I hear it, and at the same time, "No!" I don't know what percentage of the American work force enjoys their work, but from the conversations I have it can't be more than half. For those who are in a job that is a bore, or stressful, or disagreeable for any reason I'm sure this song is comforting, but it's not really true.

God made work before the fall and he did work himself in the act of creation (Gen. 1-2). Adam's job was to tend the Garden of Eden. He was both a laborer and manager. But, after the fall (Gen. 3) work became bent like everything else. Work was never intended to be what it has become for so many of us. Work is good in and of itself. One of the greatest human pursuits is to find satisfaction in some labor of love.

In a spiritual sense there is work to be done for the kingdom. Jesus instructed his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field" (Luke 10:2 ) Paul  taught that the building up of the community of faith we call the church would only be accomplished "as each part does its work" (Eph. 4:16). Elsewhere he reveals that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he has prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph. 2:10).

The perspective that helps me most is found in Colossians 3:23. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." This applies to work of all kinds. If I love the Lord--especially as a response to the love he has shown me--and I work for him, my work becomes a labor of love. There is therefore no work that cannot be redeemed and turned to joy as long as the work itself is ethical. For example, I don't think working in an adult bookstore qualifies as a labor of love for the Lord!

In his book, "Why America Doesn't Work," Chuck Colson claims we have lost what has been known as "the Protestant work ethic." It basically is the principle I just laid out in the preceding paragraph. Only by recovering a sense of Christian purpose and duty will we again find joy in our work as God intended. And, since we spend so much time working it might not be a bad idea to find a way to enjoy it!

Do you work? If so, why do you do it?