Why do we work? On the surface, this seems to be a very simple question to answer. But with the modern day leaders that we have accumulated in accordance with our own desires, this basic activity we call work has become misunderstood by many Christians. We have been taught by these spiritual superstars, who have enriched themselves with the false message that we work to be debt free and to build wealth for retirement.
Where as this may be what we want to hear, this is a gross distortion of what God’s Word actually teaches. In Deuteronomy 15:8, God instructs His people to lend to the needy among them. If the goal were to be debt free then God would have never commanded us to aid in the destruction of our fellow believers by lending to them therefore causing them to be indebted. Being poor and having to have debt because of true need is not a sin. I am not suggesting we go look for debt or that we should be undisciplined in our financial affairs but, neither are we taught by God to make it our life’s ambition to never experience debt.
As for the building of wealth as our life goal, God has this to say in James 5:1-3 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and garments have become moth eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure.”
The obvious question then is: If we do not work in order to avoid debt or to build wealth for retirement then, why do we work?
In God’s Word, we see four basic reasons for work. In Genesis 1:28, God charges Adam and Eve to, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We are further told in Genesis 2:8 that, “The Lord planted a garden toward the east in Eden; and there He placed the man He had formed.” And in Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”
So the first reason why we work is ‘because God says so’. God planted the first garden, which He called the Garden of Eden, and He placed man there to cultivate it and keep it.
If we had obeyed His instructions, we would have still had to work but, when we chose to sin, God added a curse to our labors. In Genesis 3:16, the woman, Eve, had a greater level of pain added to her labor of bearing children and in Genesis 3:17-19, Adam received greater pain in his labor of acquiring food by the sweat of his face. God added the thorns and thistles that would now compete with Adam for the growing of his food.
Here God gives us the second reason for work. We work in order to bear the curse that God has added to our labor.
From here we move to the New Testament to find two more reasons God desires us to work. In 1 Thessalonians 4:11 & 12, Paul instructs us 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 may behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.”
God’s instruction ‘to work with our hands so that we would not be in any need’ is a reference to God’s children (Christians) not being dependent on the lost. We, Christians, have gone to work for most anyone who will provide us with a paycheck and yet this goes against God’s original intent. We were to be farmers of the earth, sky, and sea gaining our increase from the natural resources God provided. There was no need for government stimulus packages! No unemployment! No excuses to sit home and watch TV.
So the third reason we work is for the purpose of providing for ourselves without being dependent on unbelievers. Believers were instructed to help others in need but the Christians were not to look to the lost for their sustenance.
If we ignore this principle then we water down our witness to the lost world as well as live in disobedience to God’s command. What kind of God do we serve that cannot provide for His own without being reliant on the unbeliever?
The fourth and final reason that God gives us for working is found in Ephesians 4:28. Ironically, God speaking through Paul, is addressing thieves here but, the instruction certainly applies to us sinners as well. God tells us once more to labor with our hands but then He goes on to tell us why, ‘so we may have something to share with him who has need.’
So our fourth and final reason for working is in order to have something to share.
If we accept these four reasons God gives for work then it seems we in America have missed the mark considerably. If God tells us to work ’till we return to the ground’ (our earthly bodies will undergo decay – our spirit will live on forever) then who gave us the right to stop working? Retirement is not in the Bible because: Work is an act of obedience not just a means for provision.
God never condones a time to cease from working. We are to work because God says so, because God gave us the curse to experience in our work, to keep from being in need of the unbeliever, and finally, in order to have something to share. If we are able-bodied, we are given six days to labor. The land is waiting; let’s get to work!
Excellent! Thank you!
Thanks Aremar for reading our blog! Look forward to having you on board.
I would think, also, idle hands are the devil’s workshop! If you are too busy and too tired, you sure don’t have time for anything else! ha! Thank you, this was wonderful to read.
Hi Carrie, you are absolutely right, idle hands are indeed the devil’s workshop and I think this is written between the lines in God’s curse that He adds to our work. God knew we needed to be ‘extra’ busy once sin entered the world. Thanks for commenting!
5 – because it’s fun. 🙂 We were designed to work, and have dominion (not domination).
Agreed on all points.
Great comment Bob! We should love our work. It is a gift from God and quite a bonus and that it makes us healthier when we work with our hands. I took a look at your website and enjoyed seeing what you and your family are about. Thanks for commenting!
How true this is! Ken and I don’t even have the “option” of retiring, but I have seen how unprofitable retirement can be…. people lose their purpose and simply slog through the rest of their lives, living more and more for themselves, unless they determine to find purpose and continue working in their retirement (and this seems to be very rare).
Good to hear from you, Rose. Retirement seems to kill 100 percent of it’s participants. I think I’ll stay away from it.
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Thank you for this post. I just discovered your website and blog. This post hits home as I just “retired” from teaching. I was led 31 years ago to teach and I have been led to leave formal education. But to think I won’t work is incorrect. We sharecrop in our neighbor’s back yard, help friends sell at farmer’s markets and clean and plant for those that can’t. We also have use virtually every bit of our small town lot and grow or raise food.
Thank you for the reasons behind what we are being lead to do.
Hi Steve, It is good to talk to like minded folks. Glad to hear you are making your ” retirement” so productive. May God bless the efforts of your hands! Thanks for commenting.