Whether you are employed in the work force, go to school, or work as a stay-at-home parent, the Bible outlines a number of reasons why we go to work.
We work to provide for our families.
Labor is a means God has designated to provide sustenance to ourselves and our immediate family members who might depend on us. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.” The surrounding verses make clear that “care for” means making financial provision for our families.
We work to help others in need.
Work is not just a means to provide for our own needs. Many people in our community are not able to work and thus to provide for themselves, including orphans, elderly widows, the disabled, and others. Ephesians 4:28 says, “If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.” We’re called work hard at what we do, so that we have enough provision to give generously to those who have less.
We work to draw out the potential in God’s creation.
When God first created Adam, he placed him in the Garden of Eden with a job to do. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.” Adam’s work of caring for the Garden reflects the purpose God gave to all of humanity at the time of the original creation. Genesis 1:27-28 describes it like this:
So God created human beings his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
God gave humanity the authority and responsibility to rule over and subdue his creation. This is the origin of work. The original creation contained all the raw materials for the development of human culture. But God assigned human beings to bring forth the potential inherent in those raw materials. For example, God made animals, but it took human effort to domesticate them. God made mineral ore, but metals had to be created through human activity. The same is true for agriculture, architecture, tools and machines, art, education, government, and technology of every kind. All of this was latent in creation. It requires work to continue to develop what God originally made. Thus work is part of God’s mandate to humanity and central to his original plan.
We work to overcome the curse of sin.
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve rebelled against God and a curse fell upon God’s good creation. As a result, work became painful and arduous toil (see Genesis 3:17-19). The principle of work was not taken away, but it became difficult to accomplish, requiring great energy to overcome significant obstacles. As a result of this curse, everything tends toward chaos instead of order. (Try not taking care of your yard for six months!) It requires work to maintain some level of order in the world.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- What’s the hardest thing about your job, and why?
- How does the fallen nature of the world affect work?
- What are some ways that sin affects how human beings fulfill the mandate of Genesis 1:26-28? (See God’s Highest Purpose for Work)
- What hope is there for work to be meaningful under the conditions of the Genesis 3 curse?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
