I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about our work and employment in light of God’s Word and will…

 …Wise Solomon one of the world’s greatest kings and leaders once said,

Eccl 2:24 (NIV)  “A man can do nothing better than to…  find satisfaction in his work…”

At this time of the year, all Americans are reminded about one painstakingly important reason for work that is to pay our taxes! Each year we scramble to gather and collect our bills and expenses to verify the tax we are to pay to government agencies which serve us. Some people resent paying taxes; others accept it not only as a moral responsibility but as a godly one. You see the Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that everyone is to pay the taxes due him or her for living in an ordered society that provides them with all the amenities of life and living in a protected land. The Bible says,

Rom 13:1,6 (NIV)  Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God… 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.

Now my talk today is not on paying taxes. Rather, I want to talk about “why” and “how” we are to work, and “what” benefit we are to get from it from God’s perspective. But first, let’s pause for another moment of music and then I’ll share with you my thoughts from the Word of God for busy thinking and “working” people…

…Everyone remembers the Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Especially, the dwarf’s vocational song: “Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It's off to work we go. We dig, dig dig with a shovel and a pick, Heigh ho, heigh ho.” Unfortunately, life isn't all play. A young executive said recently, “You've got to do something to pay for your net connection.” Indeed, life has dramatically changed in this 21^st Century from ancient times to now. But one thing hasn’t changed – the meaning and purpose of work God ordained. Of course, everything began in the beginning and that finds us in the Garden of Eden where God created the first man and woman. Why even before sin entered the world and ruined it, God ordained for Adam to “work,” in God’s world and kingdom. We read of this in,

Gen 1:26-27 (NIV)  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule… over all the earth… 27 So God created man in his own image… male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule... over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Gen 2:8 (NIV)  Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Gen 2:15 (NIV)  The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Here we see that one of the reasons God made mankind was that he would serve the Creator by working in His universe, on His special planet earth, doing God’s will of keeping it in beautiful shape and order. Mind you, this was BEFORE sin entered the world. Yet today, we do not live in such a pristine and perfect world. In fact, the work God gave Adam that was to his perfect satisfaction and joy soon became his dissatisfaction and drudgery. The reason why? The answer is Adam and Eve sinned against God. The penalty? Listen,

Gen 3:17-19 (NIV)  To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

These ominous words of penalty brought forth what today we all know as hard “work.” However, we must not think that God cursed man’s work. On the contrary, God has continually told us He blesses man’s work done for God and His glory, even though we live in a sin cursed world, even though we too are sinners like Adam and Eve. Now having said all that, what does God say about work, and how are we to respond to it?

Today the average worker finds little to no satisfaction in his or her work.  We all seem to work for two reasons - to live and pay our taxes. Of course, the first thing we must understand about work is God expects us to continue to do this all the days of our lives. In fact, the first principle reason for work is,

GOD SET THE EXAMPLE, AND COMMENCED WORK FOR US ALL (Gen. 1:1; 2:15) – Work is not an option or an idea formulated by man to exploit others. Rather, God intended for us to find reason and meaning for our lives, in working in God’s creation. Now secondly the obvious results,

GOD COMMANDS ALL WHO ARE ABLE, TO WORK (Gen. 3:19; 1 Tim. 5:8; 2 Thess 3:10) – The old Puritan work ethic is not something invented by man, but given by God. You see God does not condone laziness, rather He condemns it. We are told that in all we do including our business,

Rom 12:11 (NIV)  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Even Jesus told us in the story of the Parable of the Pounds, the fact that God expects everyone who is able to work to do so diligently and faithfully. Yes, we are to continue to provide an orderly and prosperous society through work. In the parable we read,

Mat 25:26-30 (NIV)  “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Today the idea of ongoing government welfare is not a biblical teaching. Yes, we in society are to help the weak and poor, but only those who have this befall them by circumstances that make them unable to work. All too often, the chronically unemployed are that way because of personal laziness and sinful rebellion. This is why God’s Word sharply says,

1 Tim 5:8 (NIV)  If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

2 Th 3:10 (NIV)  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

So we’ve established now that as far as God is concerned, work is not an option for us, but rather a necessary obedience to please God and serve His purposes of the ongoing of life and society.

Now that we’ve satisfied the “reason for work,” we need to look at,

 GOD’S DIRECTION IN THE REALM OF OUR WORK – Indeed, everyone able is to work, and the first reason is we are to earn our own bread and support our own families. But in this, God also wants us to find satisfaction too. Sad to say, many have not found this in work. For them it is drudgery and toil. In a sense, that is part of God’s penalty for sin and disobedience, but also God does want us to find a measure of satisfaction. Therefore, God has planned that in our work by His grace of providence and plenty, we will find that our labors produce more than just enough for food and necessities of life. For many there is PROFIT! God’s word says profit is not wrong, and the American way of life has always been based on this right of an individual who honestly labors to earn a profit. The Bible says,

Prov 14:23 (NIV)  All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Profit is not wrong if it is not based on greed, and abuse of others. All to many in today’s society have allowed the sinful greed in us to operate in the realm of their work, creating a business that “uses” and “abuses” others including its workers. Now for the Christian, God has designed profit first of all to aid and support God’s work and kingdom advancement. The great missionary William Carey once said “ I cobble shoes to pay expenses.” He wasn’t saying shoe making was drudgery, but in reality it was his ministry and a form of worship. For the Christian, there is no work one finds oneself employed in, unless it is illegal or unbiblical work, that cannot be satisfying to know God is using it to feed and support his family, and to enable him or her to support God’s kingdom work through the local church. We read of this realm and purpose of work in,

1 Cor 16:2 (NIV)  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

2 Cor 9:7 (NIV)  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Yes, God expects us all to labor for our personal needs, but also kingdom needs too. Do you faithfully give to your local church for the work of ministry and missions? That is where  and when true satisfaction will come from your labor and work.

Now secondly, as I stated God has designed that through hard and diligent honest work, it is not wrong to have profit. In fact, the harder your work, and the more you sink your time, talents and treasures in labor and investment, the more you will make with God’s blessing. Again the Bible says,

2 Th 3:12 (NIV)  Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.

Eccl 2:24 (NIV)  “A man can do nothing better than to…  find satisfaction in his work…”

Unfortunately, today due to the secularization of society, we have again twisted the work ethic God intended for us. Many have come to believe that their personal identity is defined by the job they have. God never wanted work to define our identity. Our identify is defined by who we are in the sight of God. For this we must go back to the beginning. We are created in God’s image. Therefore we are all precious in His sight. If we can remember this, it doesn’t matter if we are a brain surgeon or a garbage collector – both have meaning and worth in society, and the ones who so labor serve their towns and cities, their families and God’s kingdom work. It was a wonderful day for me when I realized I had worth in the sight of God. How? I learned that God loved me so much that He sent His son the Lord Jesus Christ to die in my place, redeeming me from the sin penalty that awaits all mankind. Since God loved me so much, it mattered not what job I had, I was serving the king of kings. I could do that delivering mail, or sweeping the streets.

So many today are drifting through life, hating their jobs, loathing Monday mornings all because they see no meaning to their life’s work. How about you my friend? If so, you need to go to God and find your meaning and purpose through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But lastly for today, as we are looking at work, we discover that God designed more than a paycheck and profit for our labors. He also designed it would bring us real satisfaction and pleasure. You see work destroys idleness, and the trouble it brings in life. Work gives us meaning and worth, and combining all that we have inner peace and tranquility.

1 Th 4:11 (NIV)  Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,

In addition, we discover the result of God honoring work, is that God wants us to have plenty. Now it’s true more than half the world is in a situation of starvation and peril. However, remember why this is so. In every case, I believe it is because people past and present, let the society in which they live turn secular and reject the principles of the Judeo-Christian Bible for life and living. Friend, get this, no society prospers which operates outside of God’s laws and principles for life. Starvation is often a result of such disobedience over years and decades of people in lands that have lived in rebellion to the God of creation And His Word the Bible. And in reverse, those countries and people who’ve opted to live by God’s Word have prospered.

This is the story of the West and of course America itself. But I tell you this, in light of the fact that America is turning away from God in the workplace, in legislature and law, and in life and living; and, the only result will be a society that again will be enslaved and used and abused. Yes, unless America turns back to godly principles of life and living – we are doomed to join the impoverished, enslaved nations around the world that group on with the one true God at the helm.

Now saying all that, there is one other aspect of work God wants from His creation, but only those who have been born again can provide it. God wants every Christian to use his or her spiritual gifts, talents and treasures to build up and advance the kingdom of God.  We can work by spiritually witnessing, seeking sinners to know and learn about Christ. We can do this through missions support, and being a missionary ourselves in sharing the “Good News” about Christ among our friends, family and co-workers. We can do this by, working within the local church providing labor for the various ministries and services of reaching out to the communities around us. Let’s face it in America, we have “plenty” and as such we should share it with others rather than spending it frivolously on ourselves. How often the local church struggles to perform its work in light of the niggardly giving of the saints in their treasure and time for work. I tell you God will examine us as the Parable of the pounds indicated,

Mat 25:26-30 (NIV)  “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! …, you should have put my money (our gifting, talent and treasures) on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

What God is saying is if we are truly God’s children, by saving faith trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation and eternal life – none of us will remain idle in serving God through our work. We will be entrepreneurial in whatever we do. We will be faithful and diligent in serving in our jobs and careers, working unto the Lord. In this we will find satisfaction, peace and plenty over and over again knowing God is pleased at our effort to serve and love Him.

Friend, do you see your job as a ministry? You should if you are a Christian. Do you work your job or career as an outreach for Christ? You should if you are a Christian. Do you utilize the benefits and profits from it not only to adequately provide for your home and family, but abundantly provide for the work of God’s kingdom? If should if you are a Christian.

But now what if you are not a Christian? The answer is your work will rarely be satisfying to you. Oh you’ll enjoy some of it but before long regardless of the pay and benefits, it will become meaningless. I know, because, before I was saved I was in the advertising business and prospering, I achieved salesman of the year award a number of years from the firm I served. I had plenty for my family. But inwardly I was empty. I loved my job, I loved my family, I love life, but still I was empty! Soon things became meaningless for me. It was then along life’s road, living a totally secularized life without a thought of God, the Lord Jesus bumped into my life. I saw that He was the real purpose of my existence and my real role was to first serve Him who created me. When I turned my life over to God, in Christ, and trusted Him as my Lord God and Savior, my life took on new meaning! I continued in my employment but now I worked for my God and Creator, and all that I had was to advance His kingdom and work. Amazingly, my “plenty” increased further so much so, that I had much to give to advance the kingdom of God and the local church and missions. But one day God said to me. All the money you can make is not what I want. I want you! I want you to serve me personally. That was the beginning of God’s call for me to leave the business world and enter the world of full time ministry. I can tell you both worlds are satisfying if you’re in the will of God there. There is no greener grass elsewhere than to be in God’s will in your work and ministry. But the most important thing I can say to you, especially if you don’t know Christ as your Lord God and Savior. Life will never have meaning and true satisfaction, and you’ll not find it in the toys we boys will buy, or that computer, that car, that boat or new home, that dream vacation – meaningless all will be until you make God in Christ the center of your life and living. Yes, “God and Work,” they do go together and together they complete all that life was meant to be. I know, for I’ve found it and will never let it go. My life’s verse that has come to me is,

Psa 16:11 (NIV)  You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Therefore anything and everything I can do in my work ability can glorify God and bring me true satisfaction. That says it all for me. How about you?

…Solomon wisely said,

Eccl 2:24 (NIV)  “A man can do nothing better than to…  find satisfaction in his work…”

But that satisfaction can only come when you are living in obedience to God and His Word and your life’s work is centered in God’s will for you. Knowing that wherever you are in your work as a Christian, is God’s will for you. Serve the Lord there with gladness and be all that you can be as a witness for the glory of God.