From the very beginning God has also made
a provision for work. Even before the fall, God has placed man in the garden to
tend and keep it (Gen 2:15). After the fall, the work became much harder but we
should not look at work as a punishment for sin but as a blessing. God loves
the productivity and creativity which he had created in us and he expects us to
use it for his glory.
Psalm 104 shows us how God created
everything to work together as a source of beauty and design to demonstrate his
glory and to provide for the needs of each of his creatures (see previous
article on Psalm 104).
God is creative and skillful and he is
interested in our being the same way. For example, in Genesis 4:20-22 we find
that people had learned how to tend sheep, ow to play musical instruments and
how to work with metals. In Exodus 35:25-27 we read:
Exodus 35:25–27 (NKJV)
25 All the women who
were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had
spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 26 And
all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair.
27 The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the
ephod and in the breastplate,
In
several places the Bible speaks about mining iron and copper, creating works out
of bronze and creating beautiful tapestries and other works of art to be used
in worship (2 Chron 2:13-14; Deut 8:9). In the building of the temple in
Jerusalem they cast pillars out of solid bronze 27 ft tall and weighing over
190 tons!
God has placed an abundance of material in
the earth for our discovery and use for the improvement of our lives and for
his glory. Little by little we have learned how to make new and improved
building material, fibers, plastics and electronics. In every case of new
inventions and new materials, these are put to both noble and destructive or
sinful uses. When people figured out how to make iron, suddenly those with iron
chariots had a military advantage over those that did not. And yet out of iron
they also were able to make plows to make agriculture more productive.
Ultimately God wants us to work. He tells
us that those who won’t work shouldn’t eat. He also tells us that those who
won’t work are walking disorderly and should be admonished (1 Thess 4:11; 2
Thess 3:10-12). He’s not speaking here about those who are unable to work for
one reason or another, but everyone who is able should be working. Even the
unemployed should be working around their homes, keeping them up, picking up
trash, raking leaves, etc. Work is a blessing from God and we should learn to
see it that way.
Finally, we can be inventive, creative and
hard-working for the wrong reasons. God gives us richly all things to enjoy but
wants us to worship the One who gives us richly all these things and not to
heap up stuff for ourselves or to boast with pride about our possessions or
accomplishments. Look at these biblical examples of people who approached this
in the wrong way: Luke 12:18-19; Acts 12:21-23; Dan 4:30
God is a gracious, loving, creative God
who is abundant in all he supplies. He loves it when we mirror his image by
being loving, creative, and gracious as well. He has richly supplied us with a
huge variety of wonderful things to eat and a wonderful bounty of resources
with which to create beauty and improve our lives. Let’s always be thankful to
him and bless his name for the Lord is good!
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