What does the Bible say about work?

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col. 3:23). These words were written to those who, in Paul's day, were slaves. A slave's life in those days could be hard, depending on the disposition of the master. Whatever the case was, they were exhorted to work heartily. Although they had an earthly master they were to look above to their Master in heaven. They were to please Him. A remarkable dignity was put upon these slaves when Paul writes, “for … ye serve the Lord Christ”. Although slavery, as known in Paul's day, may no longer exist, there is still an obligation on the part of the Christian employee to render service heartily as to the Lord.

Sin brought in sad change, not only for man's soul and body, but for the very ground on which he trod, as scripture plainly tells us. It was no longer easy and delightful work, but in toil or sorrow he must eat of it all the days of his life. And no wonder; since thorns also and thistles it should yield to him, only to be overcome by the sweat of his face in order to eat bread. If self will kick against the goad, it only aggravates the case; if the yoke (and it is not here grievous) be accepted, it is all the better for murmuring men. There is no deliverance from guilt and sin but through faith in Christ, to whom the Holy Spirit bears witness, and by whom He gives power to the believer. But for children as yet unconverted as well as adults in the same state, occupation is a merciful help, against the dangers of idleness and indulgence of lust and passion. Even for the faithful it is good, as declining to work where the person is without means is bad: so much so, that the apostle curtly lays it down, that if a man likes not to work, neither let him eat. This prescription, if duly administered, would in general prove a salutary medicine, and without fail.

1915 320 Q. — Gen. 3:17. Did God curse the ground as a blessing to Adam and his seed, or as a just punishment for his sin, as it is said, "for thy sake"? In the two following verses it would seem that there was no work before this; whereas in Gen. 2:5 we read "there was not a man to till the ground," and again, in verse 15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." Was this work or not? That is, was not the first position of "dressing" and "keeping" of the same character as the later one of "tilling the ground from whence he was taken" (Gen. 3:23)? E.T.

A. — That the ground was cursed because of Adam's sin is what scripture plainly states. That there was no "work" before his fall is not so stated. Man placed in the garden "to dress it and to keep it" shows that it was not God's will that His creature should be idle. But there was no "toil" or "sorrow" connected with such occupation. Now thorns and thistles were to appear, and in the sweat of his face was man to eat bread. Weariness is known, and so also the sweetness of rest after labour. Idleness was one of the iniquities of Sodom (Ezek. 16:49). It had no place in innocency, nor will it be compatible with the millennium (Amos 9:13), when "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose"; nor may we not add? — with the eternal state (Rev. 21). Labour here is good for all, and in it there is profit. For out of evil God can and does bring good.

(V. 11) It is possible that some had so wrong a viewpoint in reference to the nearness of the Lord's coming that they considered it not necessary to work at all. But this reasoning is sinful. Though I am not to be doubtful or worried as to the future, yet I am to labor, working with the hands that which is good in order to have to give to others who may be in need. Work is not simply to be a means of amassing provision for the future on earth but of providing things honestly in the sight of all men, at present. What utter disgrace for a Christian to decide that since Christ is coming soon, therefore he need not work at all, but take his support from others who do work! Nor will it end there. They also become "busybodies," for since paying no attention to their own business, they shamefully interfere in the business of others. The apostle both commands and exhorts such "that with quietness they work and eat their own bread." For one to despise this was to despise the commandment of God.

Chapter 6. Two great principles of life are stated in the beginning of this chapter: not to engage oneself for the future; and not to be lazy and indolent for the present. God has set us in this place, humble diligence as a duty now - His ordinance since the fall. "In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat bread." "If any would not work, neither should he eat." On the other hand, engaging for the future is that, the result of which no man can command. The contrary of peaceful labour for one's need is the violence and rapine already spoken of and condemned as one of the two great characters of sin, at least as towards men. The other is, besides wrong, defrauding a brother in the tenderest point, sinning against oneself in corruption and lust, "his own body," as Paul speaks: all surely evil withal in God's sight.

Very beautiful, therefore, is the apostolic exhortation on the positive side. "But rather let him labour [idleness is neither right nor safe], working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to distribute to him that needs." (Ver. 28.) Thus does the Spirit cheer and direct the man whose hands were once put forth in unworthy ways; thus does He open a happy path where grace can vindicate its power, spite of a dishonest nature and habit; and he who was the stealer before he knew the Saviour's name, may now have fellowship with the spirit and practice of the great apostle (Acts 20:33-35), yea, and of the Master Himself, remembering His words, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. To live is the worldly man's object in labour; to give is the christian motive. It is not a mere question of chance surplusage, but an express object, especially for him who has the consciousness of the mercy that delivered him from covetous sin and its shame and judgment. Only the toil must be about what is good and honest. In vain will you plead a benevolent or religious use of ill-gotten gain! No employment that is contrary to God's will is good for the Christian, but should be given up at once. The covenant of Sinai never enunciated such a motive for toil as this. To talk about the ten commandments as the rule for the Christian's walk now, is to go back from the sun which rules the day to the moon which rules the night; it is to eclipse Christ by Moses under the delusive profession of doing God service. In general, what the law exacted from those under it on the principle of right, the Christian is responsible on the principle of grace to exceed in every possible way. The scope of obedience is immensely increased; the inward motives are searched out and laid bare; the very tendency to violence, corruption, and falsehood is judged in its roots, and suffering wrongfully and withal in love takes the place of earthly righteousness for the disciples. Such is the unquestionable teaching of our Lord and of His apostles; it is darkened, undermined, and denied, by those who insist on judaising the Church by putting the Christian under the law as his rule of life. Truly, they "understand not what they say nor whereof they affirm."

Thus filled, satisfied, and strengthened, we are called to dedicate ourselves, spirit, soul, and body, to the service of Christ; to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. We should have nothing else to do in this world. Whatever cannot be done as service to Christ ought not to be done at all. This simplifies the matter amazingly. It is our sweet privilege to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, and to the glory of God. We sometimes hear people speak of "a secular calling," as contrasted with what is "sacred." We question the correctness of such a distinction. Paul made tents and planted churches, but in both he served the Lord Christ.

All that a Christian does ought to be sacred, because it is done as service to God. If this were borne in mind, it would enable us to connect the very simplest duties of daily life with the Lord Himself, and to bring Him into them in such a way as to impart a holy dignity and interest to all that we have to do, from morning till night. In this way, instead of finding the duties of our calling a hindrance to our communion with God, we should actually make them an occasion of waiting on Him for wisdom and grace to discharge them aright, so that His holy name might be glorified in the most minute details of practical life.

Then Adam came up for judgment, and the governmental effects of his sin are more clearly seen. He had hearkened to the voice of his wife instead of hearkening to what God had said, and now he must face the fruits of it. The ground is cursed for his sake. He must earn his livelihood from it with sweat and sorrow until death should overtake him, when his body should return to the dust out of which it was taken. Nothing is said here as to his soul and spirit, for it is the governmental rather than the eternal consequences that are in view. There is an equal amount of scheming to get rid of the sweat and toil and men may think they are going to achieve it. But already we have heard the slogan, "We work or we want;" to that we may add, "We sweat or we starve;" for we can no more dodge that part of the curse than we can escape death.

True, there in urgent need of prudence and caution, lest we take a man out of the honourable position in which he was designed and fitted to move — namely, a position of dependence upon the fruits, the precious and fragrant fruits, of honest industry. This would be a grievous injury instead of a benefit. The example of Boaz should instruct in this matter. He allowed Ruth to glean; but he took care to make her gleaning profitable. This is a very safe and a very simple principle. God intends that man should work at something or another, and we run counter to Him when we draw our fellow out of the place of dependence upon the results of patient industry, into that of dependence upon the results of false benevolence. The former is as honourable and elevating as the latter is contemptible and demoralising. There is no bread so sweet to the taste as that which is nobly earned; but then those who earn their bread should get enough. A man will feed and care for his horses; how much more his fellow, who yields him the labour of his hands from Monday morning till Saturday night.

But mark the counsels of grace under these exceptionally bitter circumstances. They are not to plan and plot to cast off their shackles and assert their rights. They are not to give way to sour, sullen, and vindictive feelings, but to become, on the contrary, patterns of faithful and diligent service. They are to be the more scrupulous to obey their lords in every particular. They are to throw their whole hearts into their work, doing it as to the supreme Lord and not to man. They are to avoid being punctilious merely in what meets the master's eye and slovenly in everything else. Such inconsistent conduct may befit men-pleasers, but it is a disgrace to Christians who are God-pleasers. Even in the extreme case of slavery, unrighteousness in the master would not excuse unrighteousness in the servant.

What do we find then is given as a safeguard against this men-pleasing eye-service? The elevating and ennobling thought that we serve the Lord Christ. Our work is for the eye of the Lord in heaven, not alone for the eye of the master on earth. Suppose it to be the common drudgery of the most menial of slaves, it should, nevertheless, be done for the Lord of all.

How it brightens and beautifies the daily round of duty to be looking for the approval of Christ! What a difference it makes in posting a ledger, or in planing a cross-grained plank, or in mastering the conjugation of a difficult verb, to realise that our loving and patient Lord stands at the elbow to mark our efforts and to reward our diligence.