The Bible is a Book Written for Workers By Workers
Exodus 20:9-11
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work.. . . . . For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day” Exodus 20:9-11 (NIV)
Pastor’s Blog
We have all heard that we are supposed to keep this commandment, keep the Sabbath Holy. And sometimes we are made to feel guilty when we don’t. But the first part of this fourth commandment tells us to work for six days. Your work really does matter to God.
Work is good. In Genesis chapter 2 God gave human beings responsibility for “working”, responsibly ruling over creation. It’s part of what makes us human. We have the ability to assume responsibility and represent God as his stewards of earth.
Today’s scripture reveals that God “works”. We were not created for a life of “ease”, but for a life of productivity, creativity . . . . work. This scripture even tells us that we can expect to work 6 days a week. Presumably this requires of us more that a 40 work week. Sometimes I even wonder how retirement fits into God’s plans for us.
At the very least, scripture tells us that work matters and since we do it on God’s behalf we have a responsibility to do so with integrity and with the understanding that we really are representing God Himself wherever we work. One way to look at it is by asking this question, “Does how I work and interact at work make God look good to others?”
Remember though Genesis 3 teaches us that work itself was affected by the “fall”. Never expect even the “perfect job” to be done without great difficulty.
I have often wondered how, in a secular workplace, to incorporate my faith into my work life. As a general rule, I was able to do this daily by keeping my moral standard at the highest possible level. I would also occasionally look for opportunities to share faith with those around me who first expressed a “faith”. I would less seldom find opportunities to evangelize ever so slightly to unbelieving co-workers or clients that had first expressed an interest in what was the source of my peace and serenity.
ReplyDeleteThen, this past spring, I was blessed to be able to work in a very short-term, high stress environment where I was given the opportunity to be a walking witness at work. No, it was not a religious workplace, but a large secular institution filled with people who were quite open that they did not like the temporary workers who where in place.
My first day was a Wednesday, and I had arranged to be off on the following Friday, Good Friday, in exchange for working the entire Easter weekend. I attended a Resurrection Play with my family that Friday evening and was feeling so blessed that the stone was rolled away. My five year old daughter compounded this feeling of blessing. She had spent the last hour of the play in the childcare area because the play was longer than her ability to focus. When I brought her back into the auditorium, she looked up at the stage where there was a large replica of the tomb. She jumped up on a chair, pointed to the stage and said “OH MY … Mommy! … Look! … The stone was rolled away!“ Her face was radiant as she beamed up at me and gave me a tight hug!
The next day I returned to the workplace and the glow of that blessing went with me. I walked around smiling and whenever asked how I was…yup, I beamed and said “I am blessed!”. Surprisingly, in a culturally diverse facility, not one person scowled, scoffed or looked at me strange. Most people smiled back and even went so far as to say how God had also blessed their lives.
Easter morning I bounced and beamed all the way to work, so focused on the blessing that morning memorialized. Shortly after arriving, I walked off an elevator and passed a young lady staring out the window. I stopped, looked back and saw she was crying quietly. I put my arm around her and gently hugged her. She sobbed softly and said “I am okay, I am just missing my family today.” My exuberant mood was not to be dulled though, I hugged her harder and reminded her that it was Easter and how we are blessed. She said that it was missing the holiday with her family that made her sad. I told her that I was also missing my family, but we could still spread our blessing, love and cheer to those around us on this special day. The girl smiled and hugged me back.
I can recount story after story of times God blessed me that month with situations that I was able to focus the staff, fellow temporary workers and clients on their faith in times of need. I walked around smiling and telling anyone who asked “How are you?” … “Blessed”. Through this answer, most everyone smiled back and recounted they were also blessed. No one ever challenged me or my witness, how could they? My beaming smile was evidence that I was either truly blessed, or slightly nuts… either way, they smiled back!