Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking, “Is work really necessary?” Partly because the reality of my job coupled with the stress of it was having a negative impact on me.
‘Why did God create work?’ ‘Wouldn’t it have been better if we lived in the world where our needs were automatically catered for and we just vibed?’
I used to blame the fall of man (the devil’s deception of Adam and Eve) for the exhaustion I felt when I got back from work.
But a little dive into history will show that it was instituted by God.
“In the beginning, God created…” Genesis 1:1
The first thing God did was to work (create), He brought into existence what was not.
And the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths…(Gen 1:2).
He went ahead to create more things throughout a six-day period and at the end of it, He’d stand back, watch and say, “This is good”. He brought order to what was originally chaos.
From this narrative, we can deduce two definitions for work;
1. Bringing something into existence
2. Bringing order to chaos
Let’s continue,
When God created man, He gave him a task in the garden of Eden- to work it and watch over it (Gen 1:15b). Adam and Eve weren’t lounging by the river all day long eating fruit, they were tasked with the duty of keeping the garden. In short, Adam was a gardener (how he did that, we do not know), plus the added job of naming the animals.
It should be clarified that work in this post does not represent only organized employment but domestic, spiritual and personal duties too.
So, this desire I felt and I believe a lot of people do too about not working is not natural, the One who created us created us to be working beings. A life that looks like a 24/7, 12-month vacation is overrated and unbiblical.
This is not to deny the obvious challenges associated with working and the labour market in general. This desire I feel is largely because of toxic work environments, a lack of fulfilment and meagre salaries/incentives.
After the fall, God cursed the ground.
The ground is cursed because of you. you will eat from it by means of painful labour all the days of your life. – Genesis 2:17b.
Here, we are introduced to another type of work – painful labour. Previously, survival was not attached to labour, now, the two are closely related. But thanks be to God, who has ushered us into His rest once again due to the sacrifice of Jesus. That even though we work, our labour is not painful.
Jesus worked.
I must do the work of the one who sent me while it is yet day for the night cometh when no one can work(John 9:4).
He emulated His Father by doing whatever the Father does (John 5:19).
Before His ascension to heaven He gave the disciples and all who would follow after the work of spreading the gospel to all the earth.
We cannot finish this conversation about work and not talk about rest. On the seventh day, God rested from all that He created (Gen 2:2b). It is only the one who works that should rest. God created a unique rhythm of work and rest, one which has become a necessity for every human being to institute or face dire consequences to one's physical, mental and spiritual health. Work and rest must be a reversible equation which continually occurs in a cycle for everyone.
Jesus enforced this rhythm by spending time alone with God in prayer alone and by practising the Jewish Sabbath instituted by God in Exodus. It was in moments when He stepped away from doing that He received the power and strength to continue doing. His high-demand life required a high supply of intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
Priscilla Shirer perfectly articulates my thoughts on rest;
THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S SABBATH DAY WAS NOT TO PUT UP HIS PROVERBIAL FEET, TAKE A LOAD OFF, AND CHILL OUT AFTER CREATING THE UNIVERSE IN THE PREVIOUS DAYS. TURNS OUT, HE WASN’T JUST DOING NOTHING. FAR FROM IT. HE WAS CREATING SOMETHING: REST. REST WAS THE CAPSTONE OF CREATION AND WITHOUT IT THE UNIVERSE WOULD BE INCOMPLETE. - PRISCILLA SHIRER (emphasis mine)
There’s so much to unpack about this topic. In a world where our constant exhaustion with adulthood tempts us to make some careless statements about this subject, I hope this caused us to view work differently. To see it as a God construct.
To recognize that there is dignity in labour- legal and morally acceptable labour. Whatever our hand finds we will execute with excellence and dignity even when it is not the dream job.
And that we can learn to find a rhythm of rest in a world that attaches so much importance to busyness that is of no profit.
I was going to pretend that all was fine after ghosting for over a month and just move straight into it but that will be unfair. Please take me back😪, I have brought my luggage this time and I hope to stay for longer. Thank you for staying and thank you for reading this one, I pray it is a blessing to you just as it has been to me. I covet your prayers greatly that I’ll be able to do this as long as God allows. Don't forget to like, share and leave your thoughts in the comments, I'll be reading them all.
Byeeee💜.
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