There was a popular TV Show back in the late 50’s and early 60’s called “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” The character Dobie Gillis had an aversion to work. Whenever his father who ran a grocery store would try to get him to do some work, he would cry out, “WORK!” with a sense of fright and take off running.
Although the show received many laughs at the demonstration of the character to avoid work, the not so funny part of life is the reality of people having the same aversion to work. Notice how the apostle addressed work to the first century church at Thessalonica:
1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 (ESV) — 9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
At this time of the year in America, we traditionally honor those who are part of the great workforce as we take time to recognize those who work – in factories, restaurants, hospitals, shops, schools, and offices. All who work with their hands, computers, in medicine, and a host of other ways in the workforce of America has much to do in advancing the economy.
The Bible likewise calls attention to those who work, rather than be idle.
Ephesians 4:28 (ESV) — 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
To the point that those who refuse to work should not eat or receive a handout if they are capable of working.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV) — 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
The earliest form of welfare in Israel was the principle of leaving the corners of the land when reaping a harvest so the poor could come and glean from the leftovers in the field, including the corners of the land. It was a way of caring for the poor without spoiling the dignity that work produces.
Leviticus 19:9–10 (ESV) — 9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
You might ask how work or labor is dignified? It was first given to Adam in the garden before the fall.
Genesis 2:15 (ESV) — 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Work was part of the blessed state of Adam along with the Sabbath rest, the blessing of marriage, and of course the magnificent garden of Eden in which he lived. It wasn’t until the fall of Adam that work became a chore as God pronounced the following curse:
Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV) — 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
In the book of Proverbs, we find those who refuse to work are called slothful and sluggards and they are described in the following:
Proverbs 6:6–11 (ESV) — 6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Proverbs 26:13–16 (ESV) — 13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” 14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. 16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.
Proverbs 24:30–34 (ESV) — 30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
As we take time to recognize the honor and value of work, may we see how God views work as a gift whereby we live out the call of God upon our lives.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
