God at Work

Read Genesis 1:1-2:3.

Today is Labor Day in the United States, the unofficial end to summer—a day when we celebrate labor by, ironically, not laboring. Well, many of us do not labor. Many more do (like my wife and daughter). And while we often complain about having to work, or we complain about our jobs, work is actually a very Christian thing to do. In the very beginning, we learn that we serve a God who is at work—creating, sustaining, and taking delight in what he has created.

Genesis 1, as I said yesterday in my sermon, is not meant to be a scientific account of creation. There are too many issues with this passage for it to be that (like: what was the light God created on Day 1 when the sun, moon and stars weren't created until Day 4?). Rather, this is a lyrical poem, a beautiful way of celebrating not how God created, but that God created. Genesis celebrates that God is at work and has been since the beginning.

But God is not modeling workaholism for us. Genesis also points out that, on the seventh day, after creation was done, God took the day off. God took a day of rest and called it a sabbath. This is almost a lost art in our world today, to take a day and allow our bodies and (even more importantly) our souls to rest. Instead, we often talk about "work/life balance," which seems to be (as I observe it) often just another name for workaholism. God's model for us is work hard, rest well.

It's important to point out, though, that Jesus didn't preach about or believe in strict adherence to the single-day sabbath. It isn't about a specific day. He says that sabbath was made for us, not us for the sabbath (Mark 2:27-28; see also Matthew 12:1-14). In other words: what we need and require is rest, but sometimes there is work to be done on the specific day set aside. When Jesus was criticized for healing on the sabbath day, he responded this way: "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working" (John 5:17). Jesus challenged the prevailing legalism of his day without doing away with the need for rest.

The Christian ethic of work is this: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23; yes, I know this was written to "slaves," but I believe the underlying principle applies to employees today). And once you've done your work, rest well. This is the model God set in the very beginning, and he hasn't changed it yet.

Happy Labor Day, wherever you are!

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