The Glory of Work

In my life, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with a few cultures different than my own.  I grew up in the Southwest and got an early taste of Mexican-American customs, food, and language.  I took a mission trip to Eastern Europe in the 1990’s and on two occasions had the opportunity to minister in Kenya.  Each cross-cultural engagement brought challenge, learning, and surprise.  But by far, the biggest surprise I experienced was the Labor Day celebration service that I was privileged to attend at a Karen (Burmese refugee) church.  Somehow, they didn’t get the memo about long-standing labor and management tensions in America.  They had invited their supervisors to the service and were honoring their bosses by giving them lavish gifts!  They got it all wrong.  But I wasn’t going to tell them.  What a delight!

According to the Bible, work is a blessing from our Creator to be embraced rather than an obligation to be shunned.  God himself works and the urge in each of our souls to be creative and productive comes from him in whose image we are made.  In the beginning, work was pure joy for Adam as he named the animals and tended the Garden of Eden.  But because the first couple chose to rebel against God, work’s delight became drudgery and children were born through painful labor (Gen. 3:16-19).

Even with its pain and drudgery, work still remains a blessing from our Creator.  It is our work that brings our wages with which we can provide for our needs and those of our family.  Work is the avenue through which we can obtain not only what we need, but also the things that we want – that nicer car, house, furniture, or recreational “toys” that we enjoy.   Work also brings us a sense of self-respect because we are contributing to “the company” and the flourishing of society through the fruit of our labors.   As a pastor, I have the frequent opportunity to counsel people who do not have work.  The vacuum in their life creates not only financial anxiety but loss of meaning and direction.  Retirement is a goal that many Americans look forward to but often struggle with because of the loss of identity and purpose that work provides.  Folks who can no longer work because of physical limitations frequently struggle with the meaning of their life when they can no longer produce.   

It was the Roman poet, Horace, who coined the phrase, “Carpe diem!”  “Seizing the day,” however, was not an original idea with him.  The Preacher from the Hebrew book of wisdom, Ecclesiastes, put it this way, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in the grave, to which you are going” (v. 9:10).  We only have so many days allotted to us.  Make the most of them in the work that you do. 

Historically, Labor Day in the United States grew out of the efforts of the Labor Movement in the late nineteenth century.  In the rush of the Industrial Revolution and the prosperity that it brought, laborers were commonly mistreated and overworked in order to benefit the bottom line of the company.  Work was often dangerous and dehumanizing.  The Labor Movement emerged through the courageous organizational efforts of workers and eventually brought justice and humanization to the industrial workplace.  Though the movement was not faith-based, the effect that it accomplished was essentially God’s work because his purposes are always just and righteous.   In the end, industries prospered even more as worker pride and productivity increased along with better working conditions. 

I think we can learn something from the Karen people that I mentioned in the opening of this piece.  Labor Day should be an occasion for gratitude.  This weekend, as we celebrate the holiday, let it be more than burgers and brats around the barbeque.  Let us remember with thanksgiving the efforts of the Labor Movement that secured justice and pride in the workplace.  But above all, let us be thankful for the work that God has given us to do.