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Work ethicFriday, March 12, 2010
Hosea 14:3 "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Nothing comes free and nothing comes easy. Living on earth outside the Garden of Eden requires that I work hard to survive. I should expect that. Don't get lazy. No problem. There is a problem, though, when I get uppity about my accomplishments. I want to put one over on God. I'd like to exchange my blue collar for a white one, bright white with a little starch. No more sweat, no more thorns or thistles, cover the dust with a carpet. In this way I can pretend that I am more important than I am, and that I will never die. Denial is not just a river in Egypt. There are two "hands" verses that I love. In Psalm 90 Moses asks God to "establish the work of our hands." And in 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul writes: "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and work with your hands, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." Out of these verses comes our work ethic. God blesses the work I do ... unless and until I bless it for myself. Then he reminds me that I really am outside the gates, that life is difficult, that I am not in charge. And that he loves me too much to let me mess this up on my own. Thank you for your long view, Lord, when you allow me to turn back to Eden over and over after I've gotten so far away. |
As a male descendant of Adam I need to take seriously the words God spoke to him in Genesis 3: