Work is a Gift or Present from the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 says: “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him - for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.”

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon is trying to figure out what life is all about. He is viewing life from a human perspective. He tries out every pleasure and endeavor imaginable. He does it all on a bigger scale than anybody else. And here is a conclusion he comes to:

You had better find some satisfaction in your work. You had better find some enjoyment in its results. You had better accept your lot in life and the necessity of work. Find some way to be happy in your work. Take all that—wrap it up—and realize it is a gift from God. That is a wonderful present from the Lord.

Why does Solomon say this is a gift from God? Because it keeps a person from going crazy thinking about his own mortality. Being occupied with the joys of work and accomplishment, he is not always dwelling on the deep, philosophical issue of death. That is an issue we must face. We must all address that fact. Moses prays in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

It is essential that we address the issues concerning our own mortality, the brevity of life, the priorities of life. But it is a gift from God that we don’t just sit on a mountain 24 hours a day and think about that. It is a gift from God that we can be occupied with productive things.

God, the Creator, has made us in His image. It is a gift from God that we have the capacity to create results. Only God can create something from nothing. But He has given us the capacity to shape and mold things into beauty and utility. He has given us the satisfaction that comes through doing that.

The Greeks had a warped view of work. They believed work to be demeaning. Is this view Biblical? No! “But, didn’t God punish Adam by making him work? Wasn’t that God’s curse on Adam for his disobedience?” No! The curse was the thorns and thistles. The curse is the painful toil required to produce from the ground. The curse is the second law of thermodynamics—things run down, deteriorate if not diligently attended. But the curse is not work. As a gift to Adam, God gave man work to do long before the fall. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

In God’s great plan of redemption work is redeemed, recovered, and sanctified along with creation. In heaven, we will not sit idle on a cloud strumming a harp. Eternity could get real, real boring if that’s all we were to do. But God has work for us to do. There’s not much revelation as to exactly what it will be. But work without the curse is clearly in God’s plans for us forever. So, it’s a good idea to get a healthy attitude toward work. In heaven work will be an utter delight. But even now we as God’s people can enjoy the earnest of that inheritance. There is even NOW for the child of God, a sanctification of work.

Work is a Protection from Temptation.

I’ve already mentioned from Ecclesiastes 5:20 that it’s a protection from depression. Some people, certainly not all but some people, are depressed simply because they are not working enough and have too much time to think about themselves. There is a lot of wholesome therapy that can be found in old fashioned work.

But work is also a protection from temptation. Have you noticed how much more corrupt our society has become as the emphasis on work has decreased and the pursuit of pleasure and entertainment has increased? Charles Colson and Jack Eckerd wrote a book entitled Why America Doesn’t Work. They talk about how the decline of the work ethic is hurting your family and future. We are a generation who is borrowing from the past and borrowing from the future when we should be earning our way. And the result of that is all kinds of social ills. In the early 1800’s farmers didn’t have time for pornography. They were too exhausted to riot. Their work kept them from all kinds of iniquity. Work is a protection. Most of us can’t handle very much idleness without getting ourselves into trouble. When I was growing up there was a common saying that I heard often: “Idleness is the devil’s workshop.” I heard it so much I thought it was a quote from the Bible. It’s not a quote from the Bible, but the concept is there.

Remember David’s failure with Bethsheba? What was the setup? He was idle. He was not doing his job as the leader. He should have been out leading the armies of Israel. Instead he let others do his job while he lounged around in the palace. He was not about his Father’s business, so he got into the devil’s business.

In the church at Thessalonica there were people not working. How did they fill the vacuum of time? As busybodies getting into other people’s business, gossiping and stirring up trouble. Paul gave those people a cure for their problem—Go to Work!

Work is a Means of Provision.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 says, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”

Paul gave these people an example and a command. He had gone way past the call of duty in his work. They may have thought he was a workaholic. But he was trying to set an example for them to follow. He also gave this rule in verse 10: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Work is God’s normal channel of provision. He can send ravens to feed us. He can miraculously multiply fish and loaves. But usually He gives us a job.

It is presumption to reject that provision and then claim, “I’m trusting the Lord.” Most of the time those people are really just trusting other people to take care of them.

Proverbs 19:15 says, “Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.”
Proverbs 28:19 says, “He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.”

Robert Frost once wrote, “The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.”

Work is the honorable way to get our needs met. That’s what Jesus did the first thirty years of His life. If He didn’t consider himself too good, too important to work, God forbid any of us would. As a general statement, work is God’s design for man in the rhythm of life. In Psalm 104 David talks about how God has designed creation and how it all functions. In the middle of all that (verse 23) he says, “Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.” It’s a full day’s work and it happens in the normal course of life.

Exodus 20:9 says, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither…”

But what does the first half of Exodus 20:9 say? “Six days you shall” what? “labor.” That’s part of the command. Are you setting aside a Sabbath day to the Lord each week? Are you laboring six days? The labor is not just work done on your secular job. It includes work done at home. It includes work done at the church. There are many Christians violating the principle of the Sabbath and suffering the consequences of doing so. There are also many Americans violating the first half of that command, not working their six days, and suffering the moral consequences of that.

Work is a Partnership with God.

1 Corinthians 3:9 says, “For we are labourers together with God…”
Work is an opportunity to partner with God. It is not something we are to do independently of God. “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain…” (Psalm 127:1).

This is a privilege God grants to us: to participate in what He is doing. Jesus said,
"My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." (John 15: 17).

For God to be working does not mean I then am not working. He has designed it so that we do it together with Him. A farmer clears the land, plows the field, and waters the crops. That’s his God-given part to do. He does that in faith. Only God can cause the crops to grow. God won’t do it without the farmer’s participation. Man can’t do it without God’s participation. It will even happen in proportion to the farmer’s exercise of faith by doing his part.
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

The mark of a leader is that he sees the work God wants done and it doesn’t scare him! A follower must be told to do it—sometimes even forced to do it. But a leader asks permission to do it. The leader initiates action based upon what he sees. Nehemiah was a leader. He saw the walls around Jerusalem that needed to be rebuilt. He could have closed his eyes to that job. He was the king’s cupbearer. He had it made. He could have taken his ease and played it safe. But real leaders never do that.

Nehemiah did not see a job. He saw an opportunity to partner with God in what God was about to do. But when God shows opportunities to us, what will we see? Will we see a terribly hard task to be avoided? Will we see a lion in the way? Or will we see an opportunity? Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

The people in Nehemiah’s day did not miss their opportunity because they decided to work. They were not trying to get out of work. They were trying to get something done.

Nehemiah 4:6 says, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.”

Walls don’t get built unless somebody has a mind to work. God could do it without us. But He knows the surpassing benefits for us to be a part of the process.