It has been about 2 weeks into the start of the new year and many have returned to work and school, after a fantastic and enjoyable time of holiday and rest with your family and loved ones. Maybe you are one of those who feel the Monday blues every day of the week, thinking that work was a curse or punishment from God!
And to Adam he said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and you ate from the tree from which I forbade you to eat, the ground shall be cursed on your account.
Genesis 3: 17-19
In pain you shall eat from it
all the days of your life.
18 And thorns and thistles shall sprout for you,
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow[x]
you shall eat bread,
until your return to the ground.
Reading the above may have led one to think that work was a punishment given to mankind by God. Especially since Adam had disobeyed God by eating from the tree he was specifically told not to, and now all of mankind had to eat bread by the “sweat of (our) brow”.
Well, here’s the good news. Work was never meant as a punishment for mankind. In fact, God intended for all of mankind to work, with or without sin. God’s intention is seen in Genesis 1:26.
And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth. ”
Genesis 1:26
God’s intention for mankind is for us to rule over the world He has created. This “ruling over” is for us to work – to work the ground such that it produces food for us. To domesticate animals for food and to help us in getting food.
And surprise, surprise, there is absolutely no mention of retirement!
God has given us a way of getting food through work. Without work, we would not have been able to get food which is all around us. Imagine seeing the trees and plants with their fruit around you, and having no way of getting to it. But now, God is showing us that we can work for our food. You have the power to get what you need, to achieve what you want, through work.
Thus we can be unafraid in carrying out work – we know that God has given us the abilities and potential to accomplish our work.
The word “them” in Genesis 1:26 refers to all humankind, giving us a further assurance that we are not doing work alone. All of mankind collectively have to work, and can work together to achieve sustenance for ourselves.
And Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it.
Genesis 2:15
The on-the-job training starts immediately for Adam. Adam is taken to the Garden of Eden for him to cultivate the land and to take care of it.
All these were set out by God for mankind, even before the introduction of sin. So we can see that work is God’s intention for mankind, and never a punishment.
In summary,
- Work is God’s intention for mankind from the beginning of creation.
- Work is not God’s punishment for mankind.
- I was made for doing work!
- I am not alone in carrying work. Other people are my team members.
I hope these new discoveries help you see work the way it should be, and bring about renewed excitement in your daily life!