Work has always been a part of God’s plan for humanity. It goes all the way back to creation as part of God’s original mission.
Genesis 1:26-28 (NLT) God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in 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.”
The greatest purpose of work is to bring out the full potential of God’s creation. The world God made was very good (Genesis 1:31), but it was not complete. God called human beings to help bring it to its full potential. For example, God made animals. But human beings domesticated animals to make them useful for agriculture. God created minerals in the earth. But human beings mine the ore, refine it into metal, and create implements from the metal.
This mandate calls on human beings to fulfill two roles:
- We act in God’s image as his managers. God is creative, and so are humans. God worked to created the universe. Work is a reflection of our likeness to God. Our role is – like a property manager – to care for and nurture the creation God made.
- We rule and subdue the raw materials of creation. We have authority to bring creation under our dominion for God’s purposes.
When you go to work – whatever it is you do – you are participating in bringing God’s creation to its full potential.
God put Adam to work in the Garden of Eden. Eden was not just a tropical vacation, but involved meaningful labor.
Genesis 2:15 (NLT) The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.
Work is a good thing. Work is what we were created for. Each of us should welcome the opportunity to work. Let’s each find our place and make our contribution.
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 does it suggest that God gave Adam work to do in the Garden of Eden?
- In what way can we say that God’s original creation was very good but not complete?
- How does Genesis 1 give dignity and purpose to work?
- How does your job contribute to bringing God’s creation to its full potential?
- What are some ways that your job does not seem to participate in that larger purpose? Why doesn’t it? (See Work Is Toil After Humanity’s Fall)
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
