Meant to Work!

You likely do this every day: Glance out the window to see what the weather is like. It is an excellent way to preview what may be in store for you. In a moment, you can obtain the choice bit of information you need to get on with your day and back to your routine.

Sometimes what we see during this routine occurrence can catch us off guard. Perhaps it is a magnificent glowing sunrise or a large mass of migrating starlings flying over your home. It could be an exquisite flower blooming or a squirrel doing something unexpected.

Usually, such scenes catch our attention for a short time—perhaps we even briefly thank God for creating them—then we return to what we were doing.

But there is an important message in the beauty of nature: everything in it took work to create. Mountain ranges, streams, rivers, sprawling rainforests, every type of bird, animal, insect—even microorganisms not visible to the human eye—were carefully thought out and created by God.

This principle does not stop with Creation. Everything surrounding us is the product of design and work—tables, chairs, clothes, houses, vehicles and more. You use these daily, but how often do you stop to truly consider what it took to make them?

Another example is The Pillar of the Truth magazine you are now reading. Even before the publication’s content was selected, many hours of labor were already spent on it.

Someone had to cut down trees. Someone had to transport them to a paper mill. The complex milling process included soaking the logs in a tumbler to remove the bark. The wood was then pulped, bleached, refined and formed into long rolls of paper. The rolls were sent to a paper production facility that cut and packaged the sheets. Then that paper had to be transported to the Mail Processing Center at Headquarters. Ink also had to be manufactured and delivered.

Before the magazine could be printed or posted online, writers, editors and designers had to produce the words and pictures you see.

The point? It all took work.

This understanding should cause you to never look at anything the same way. Everything around you—everything!—was created by someone’s labor.

Why is this the case? Why would God design life this way? Why does everything revolve around work?

The answers will inspire you.

From the Start

Throughout the Bible, the importance of work is emphasized. Genesis is no exception. Its first sentence states, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (1:1). This is a fascinating and instructive look into the mind of God—He creates.

As with anything else, creating takes work!

On the sixth day of the Creation week, God made the first human beings, Adam and Eve. Verse 27 states that mankind was created “in His own image, in the image of God…” The word “image” means resemblance and likeness.

We resemble God not just in appearance—we were also designed to behave like Him. Put another way, the Creator is a worker, and we were designed to work too.

This is precisely what God instructed the first humans to do: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (2:15).

The word “dress” means to work, while the word “keep” means to protect. Anyone who has ever grown a garden understands exactly what God instructed Adam to do: till the soil, plant seeds and seedlings in the ground, water, and eventually harvest the crops. All of this requires effort or labor.

Through His instructions to Adam, God established a vital type, or pattern, for us.

Continual Emphasis

God never wanted man to forget the importance of work. Because of this, He put a command to be active and productive in the Ten Commandments. Did you realize this?

Most do not recognize that the Fourth Commandment is twofold. It does, of course, tell us to remember the Sabbath day, but there is another element at play. Notice Exodus 34: “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest…” (vs. 21).

There are two instructions here: You shall work for six days, and then you shall rest on the seventh.

To further emphasize the point, the Bible continuously shows the benefits of being active and productive. It also warns of the dangers of idleness.

• “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her meat in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8). God designed ants with a certain work ethic that we can emulate!
• “The soul of the sluggard [one who is lazy and idle] desires, and has nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat [prosperous]” (13:4). Those who are focused on working and accomplishing in their lives will be blessed in a multitude of ways.
• “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing” (20:4).
• “The desire of the slothful kills him; for his hands refuse to labor” (21:25).
• “There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God” (Ecc. 2:24).

A Godly Work Ethic

Throughout the Bible, God’s servants faithfully obeyed His command to work. Think of Moses, Samuel, Joshua, David and even Jesus Christ—they all remained productive until the end of their lives. We should follow their examples.

Moses, in particular, stayed active in old age: “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deut. 34:7).

At the end of Moses’ life, he still had health and vigor. God certainly blessed him, and He is ready and eager to bless you in the same way if you value the importance of work and staying active.

If you study the lives of men and women of God recorded in the Bible, you will find that they all remained productive in serving God even at an advanced age and despite many trials and challenges in their lives.

How could we sum up the work ethic of Moses and other Bible greats? They would have followed the principle of Ecclesiastes 9: “Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (vs. 10).

Of course, there are qualifiers in the command to work. If you are unable to work because of your physical circumstances, God understands. Yet everyone needs to work to the degree he or she is able.

If you are not physically able to hold a traditional full-time job, the modern age provides alternatives. Many employers now allow staff to work remotely—no need for any commuting or physical labor. There are also creative ways to work independently, like on-demand meal and grocery delivery services, including Instacart, DoorDash and Walmart Spark. Ride services, such as Uber and Lyft, can also be considered. These are simple to get involved in and allow people to set their own schedules.

There are different types of work—and not all of them lead to a paycheck. Anything that fruitfully engages your mind and body could be considered work. Even on days off, you can work on hobbies or serve Church members in need.

The overall point is to avoid idleness.

And just because you may be older does not mean you should stop working. You may need to slow down or be resourceful in the type of work you do, but there is always something you can do. The advantage of being older is that you now have increased knowledge and experience.

This wonderful byproduct of a long life can be used in many ways. We are creative beings with God’s Spirit to aid us. That is a powerful one-two punch.

Ask yourself: “What can I do to continue to be productive—benefiting myself, others around me, and the Work of God, which I was called to be a part of and support? What can I do to be another living example like those in the Bible?”

Deeper Benefits

God promises to daily load us with benefits if we obey Him (Psa. 68:19). Work not only has physical benefits, such as the paycheck you receive, but also an abundance of spiritual ones.

An overarching value of labor is that it allows you to put God’s Way into practice. Through work, you can show forth the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. By being active, earning a living and helping others, we can grow in “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness [and] temperance.”

For example, while working, you will have many opportunities to practice outgoing concern for your fellow man. You will also have the chance to bring peace to tense situations. You can learn longsuffering and patience as you take on and complete complex projects. The list of benefits could go on.

Staying at home wasting away hours stunts such growth!

An additional spiritual benefit is that you can learn stewardship. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 and the parable of the pounds in Luke 19 demonstrate that if we are faithful in small things in our lives—such as handling money earned from our labor—we will be given much greater responsibility later.

This is part of the process for qualifying to oversee entire cities in God’s Kingdom (Luke 19:17, 19) by learning to be a “steward of God” now (Titus 1:7).

Our stewardship is so important that we will have to give account as to how well we performed. This is also shown in the parable of the rich man and the steward. The rich man required results: “Give an account of your stewardship…” (Luke 16:2).

Learning stewardship has lasting implications!

Eternal Rewards

If there is still any doubt that God requires people to work, one only needs to look to what He is doing on Earth today: His Work. Christ put it simply in John 5:17: “My Father works…and I work.”

The Work of God has two assignments, known as commissions: to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all nations (Matt. 24:14) and feed the flock of God (John 21:15). You support these efforts through tithes and offerings from funds that come from employment income or through fundraising.

There is another element to how God is working. Notice: “Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

God is working in you! And He will continue to do so until Christ’s Coming. You can work alongside Him and help the process, or you can make it much harder by being stubborn and resisting growth. The choice is obvious.

When you undertake any task—physical or spiritual—you should follow this defining principle: “And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24).

All your work should be done as if God is your employer. This is vital to understand. Your inheritance is riding on it!

The following describes your reward in more detail and should further motivate you: “What is man, that You are mindful of him? Or the son of man, that You visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of Your hands: You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him…” (Heb. 2:6-8).

Understand what these astounding verses are saying. God promises to put “all things” under the feet of man! The Moffatt translation renders the Greek word for “all things” as “the universe.”

God wants you to work now—your entire life—so you are prepared to assist Him in His plan for the universe.

Can you see the incredible future that lies ahead? The life God is planning for each of us will not be burdensome. On the contrary, the Creator describes eternity as “pleasures for evermore” (Psa. 16:11).

We will be involved in exciting, challenging and stimulating endeavors “for evermore”—without suffering the limitations of physical humanity! We will never get tired or bored, always enjoying our past accomplishments and looking ahead to future projects. There is so much exciting and challenging work to do!

God wants you to love to work now so you can become like Him. All those born into the God Family will be creators—workers—continuing to build the universe. We must be enthusiastic about working.

We cannot allow our human nature to fool us into thinking we should not work or that we should stop working if we already are. This is not an option—read II Thessalonians 3:10.

Will you do your part? God wants you to become like Him. Take a different view of work—realize its vital importance.

Work truly is a gift from our God. Take advantage of this awesome truth that so few in the course of human history have understood. Prepare now for your amazing—and busy—future by developing a strong work ethic. Your incredible career as a creator in the God Family lies before you.

Let’s get to work!