Genesis 2:15

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 

We live in a culture that increasingly devalues the importance and Godliness of hard work.  We are always looking for the easy way, the quick way, and for many, a way out of doing even the most basic work necessary to provide daily sustenance and shelter.   Unfortunately, welfare entitlement has crept into the lives of millions resulting in the poisonous mentality of the sluggard.  It is much easier to lay in bed, than it is to get to work!  Even those who do work often find themselves grumbling and complaining and only finding misery in their employment.  Today we must be reminded of a very important truth…God created man for the purpose of work.  To work with joy, purpose and out of obedience to His design for mankind.  After God created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, His very first directive to Adam was to cultivate and keep the garden.  Very simply, to work.  This directive was given before the warning to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, before God created woman, and before man’s fall into sin.  Which brings us to a very important reality, work is not a result of sin, laziness is!  Before the fall, man desired to obey God in daily work, after the fall man desired to disobey God in daily laziness.  Laziness and a life devoid of work feeds the flesh, while daily productivity feeds the Spirit. In short, daily work is not an option, but a wonderful privileged and obedience to God filled with many blessings.  The blessing of work is in the work itself and no other blessing is needed.  Work provides wages to feed ourselves and our families, it provides shelter and all other necessities of life.  Beyond this, it teaches us discipline, resilience and a spiritual readiness to go to work wherever we are needed.  A good work ethic allows us to be a blessing to others and to be faithful in giving to God’s Church.  All of these things are real, tangible blessings built right into work.  And while work has built-in blessings, laziness has built-in curses.  The sluggard struggles to pay for even the most basic of human needs such as food, shelter, clothing and provision for their families in any way.  The sluggard is never a blessing to others but rather a drain on others and upon the Church.  And above all, they lack the basic spiritual discipline and readiness needed to be useful in the hands of God.  Excluding those who have reached an age where work is no longer a physical possibility, work is not an option, it is one of the most basic requirements of a healthy life both physically and spiritually.  Therefore, be encouraged in your work this day!  It may seem mundane, menial and even at times a struggle, but the Lord has given us clear instruction and a wonderful blessing in the work of our hands.  Mothers, your work is tedious and trying at times, but the reward of raising children, keeping a home, and providing the care needed for your family to thrive is of primary importance to your children and husband.  Fathers, your work provides more than just the funds necessary to provide the basics of life, it teaches resilience, obedience, discipline and honors the Lord by protecting and nurturing your families!  Even for those who are single, work provides all of the same blessings and meaning that is required for a productive and meaningful life in Christ.  We may be called to different types of work, but it is all for the same purpose.  It is God’s way of providing all that we need to thrive physically and spiritually while we are here on earth!  There is coming a day when we will work for the Lord in eternity and there won’t be the terrible laziness of our flesh to get in the way!  But until then, let’s lay down our own fleshly desires and put our hands to the plow both in our daily work and our Kingdom work…they are more related to each other than we may think!

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor John