Work: A Gift of God
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord. Colossians 3:23
Labor Day celebrations in the U.S. and Canada began in the 1880’s. Labor Unions strongly urged setting aside a day to honor the “working man”. Over the years the holiday has become different things to different people. Family Time. Last weekend of Summer. A Picnic in the Park. It’s also a time when children ask their parents, “Why do so many people not work on Labor Day?”
One would hope children also find it odd that years ago many looked down on people who made a living “working with their hands.” That is, people who worked in factories or fields or in the building trades. They know their parents work hard, whether their job is at home or somewhere else, and whether they sweat and strain in their work – or mostly sit alone in front of a computer and think.
In leading people back to the Scriptures Martin Luther did much to change peoples’ attitudes towards work. People had been taught to think that only those with church-connected occupations were serving God in their work. When the Lord led Luther to realize that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, then the purpose of any work became clear. As the Reformer once wrote, “Every occupation has its own honor before God. Ordinary work is a divine vocation or calling. In our daily work, no matter how important or mundane, we serve God by serving the neighbor and we also participate in God’s on-going providence for the human race.”
In writing to the Colossians the Apostle Paul told them that “whatever they did” – whatever task or role was theirs, they were to work with hearty commitment to doing a good job. These words also remind us that any time anywhere we use the gifts and abilities God has given us, to do whatever task is at hand, that is work.
Heavenly Father, let me do everything you give me to do in a manner pleasing to you. I ask this in the Name of your Son, Jesus, whose every work was done for me. Amen