I hope you had a great Labor Day. We sure did. I didn’t have to get up at my regular time. I did my exercises and then later, Dory and I went to the park and did a couple of laps. In the afternoon, we went to my Mom and Dad’s house to swim and have a fish fry. Yum! Not to mention a triple birthday cake – my brother, my Dad, and DaLee (Happy birthday sweetie!!) all have birthdays within a week of each other. All in all, a great day.
It makes obvious sense – honor the American worker by taking the day off – but when you first hear it takes a moment to sink in. We’re celebrating work so let’s not work? It almost seems like an oxymoron. You know, two things that go together yet seem contradictory.
In the beginning, work wasn’t the bad guy it is now. God gave Adam a task to do – care and tend for the Garden. Adam willingly and lovingly served God by doing his task. After The Fall God cursed the ground and made work, well work. From then on, Adam would have to deal with weeds, and dry spells, and who knows, bugs – whatever makes farming a pain.
There’s nothing wrong with work. In fact, God expects us to work. We’re to pull our own weight and earn our own keep. Paul wrote about it in his letter to the Thessalonians. Our work can and to a certain extent should be a source of pride. When you’re proud of your work you’ll work harder and do it better. However, to bring it back full circle to Adam, Paul also told the Colossians to “do all things as to the Lord.” If we do our work – write that report, teach that class, mop that floor – as if Jesus Himself were our boss, how would our work and our workplace change? We’ll “labor till the Master comes.” Some work will be directly for His Kingdom while other will be indirectly for Him. Either way, let’s have another piece of fish and make the most of it!
Until our next togethering,
love ya, Bret
