Pineman (10
Sep 2011)
"The Goodness of Work"
From: http://odb.org/2011/09/05/the-goodness-of-work/
Some Christians grow up believing work is bad—that it’s a
curse brought about by Adam and Eve’s sin. Left uncorrected,
this mistaken belief can cause people to feel that what they
do in their jobs every day isn’t important to God—or at the
very least, isn’t as important as the work of missionaries and
pastors. This is not true, as Genesis 1:26-31 teaches us.
First, we learn that God Himself works, as evidenced by the
labor involved in creation and by the fact that He rested on
the seventh day. Then we discover that we were made in His
image (v.26) and that we were granted dominion over creation.
This implies that we are to work to tend creation. Clearly,
the tending of God’s creation is work—noble work, for God
looked upon His labors and declared them “very good” (v.31).
It mustn’t escape our notice either that work was declared
good before sin entered the picture. In other words, work
didn’t result from the fall and therefore is not a curse. We
see this idea again in Genesis 2, when God “took the man and
put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (v.15).
Let’s approach each day’s labor—whether at a job or doing
another activity to help our family—with an awareness of the
dignity and nobility God granted it in creation.