How To .... Work ....

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15; Colossians 3:23-24

Theme: How to – Work …

Celebrating Work – and How God created us to work…

INTRO

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

How many of you remember an old Tennessee Ernie Ford song that went like this:

[Verse 1]

Some people say a man is made out of mud

A poor man's made out of muscle and blood

Muscle and blood and skin and bones

A mind that's weak and a back that's strong

[Chorus]

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?

Another day older and deeper in debt

Saint Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go

I owe my soul to the company store

If you don’t remember that one, then perhaps you will remember one of these songs:

+She Works Hard for the Money – Donna Summer

+9 to 5 – Dolly Parton

+A Hard Days Night – The Beatles

And if you like many people you learned one of these two songs as you grew up –

+Whistle While You Work

+Heigh Ho Heigh Ho - It’s Off to Work I Go

Work – Job – Employment - Vocation or Avocation – or both which is the best by far.

Having the ability to do something that brings you great joy while at the same time being able to receive compensation for that ability is what is called an amazing job and career.

This morning let’s see what the Bible says about work in general and in particular:

I. God designed Humans for Work

From our passages this morning we understand that the idea of work predates the Fall of Man. In other words, it is not out of sin or out of some cosmic punishment that we human beings work. We were created to work; to be productive, creative, and imaginative.

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created to work. They were created to enjoy, to protect and to cultivate the Garden of Eden. They were created to ensure that it continued to be a Garden of Paradise. They were created to take care of both the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. All these things were their first God given tasks. But there was even more.

As you read Genesis 1-2 you understand that God gave them not just a Garden of Eden mandate but also a planet wide cultural mandate.

God’s idea was rather simple:

+God gave Adam and Eve a starting point – a place where they could live and a place where they would learn how to be in control of the planet God had given them – Our Good Earth.

+Initially, they would be busy with the Garden of Eden giving all the animals their names and learning how to oversee and take care of all the different plants, trees, animals, birds and fish.

+Then as they produced children those children would create even more families. Those additional families would need a place to live and to build their own homes and lives.

+To accomplish all of this, Adam and Eve and the later generations would have to work at making the Garden of Eden larger and larger until the whole planet look like the Garden of Eden.

+In a nutshell they were given the task of terraforming the whole Earth to look like the Garden of Eden; physically, socially, and spiritually.

It was a rather simple plan.

God had made humans in His image and had given mankind the authority, the ability and the location in which humankind could create their own heaven on earth. It would take work, but it was work that God had given humans the ability to accomplish.

II. God gave humans all kinds of different gifts, skills and talents

The Bible is clear on the fact that God has given all of us various talents, skills, and gifts to do our work.

It’s a part of our God given DNA to work. It’s also in our DNA to do some specialized work.

Think for a moment of all the skills and talents that we have all around us. Think for a moment of some of the people we meet in the Bible that had various skills and talents:

+Noah was a ship builder and a farmer.

+Abraham was a businessman and a shepherd.

+Joshua was a brick layer, then became a soldier and finally he was the governmental leader of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

+Deborah was a ruler and judge of Israel.

+Peter, James and John were fishermen who became apostles and writers.

+Dorcas was a seamstress.

+Lydia was a businesswoman who became an Early Church leader.

+Matthew was at first a tax collector, then an apostle and a writer.

The Bible talks about shepherds, masons, metal workers, carpenters, government employees, priests, farmers, teachers, artists, painters, treasurers and the list goes on and on.