(Title borrowed from the title of an excellent book by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks)
Do you love going to work? According to a Forbes Magazine article, “Finding Your Dream Job” Joel Garfinkle, founder of Dream Job Coaching in Oakland, Calif says that “87% of workers are unhappy with their job.”
http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/22/jobs-careers-employment-cx_sr_0223bizbasics.html
What would be your dream job?
According to http://www.the-top-tens.com/lists/top-ten-dream-jobs.asp here are some dream jobs indicated by a recent survey
Author
Jet Pilot
Inventor
Pro-Athlete
Race Car Driver
Video Game Tester
Chocolate Taste tester
Hit Man
Pro Skateboarder
Letter Turner on “Wheel of Fortune”
So unless you plan to be a jet pilot or Vanna White, you’re going to have a difficult time finding a dream job, at least according to this survey!
Since about 15-20% of your entire life will be spent WORKING, we had better gain God’s perspective concerning work! http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2208725
God cares about work! After all, He CREATED work.
Our work involves MORE than what you do to get a paycheck!
We can learn much about work and our work ethic from the story of Jacob’s labor for Laban in Genesis 30:25-43.
“After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.” But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.” Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?” “What shall I give you?” he asked. “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.” “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks. Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.” (Genesis 30:25–43, NIV84)
This story reveals how God blessed Jacob’s flocks and caused him to prosper,
in spite of Laban’s greed. The key verse in this story is Genesis 30:43 "In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys."
Our theme today is that “God provides for us and demonstrates his love by blessing our labor.”
That’s right - God blesses our labor! Let’s look at how this important principle works in our lives today, based on Jacob’s experiences in Genesis.
I. Our Work PLEASES GOD and BLESSES OTHERS
The first place in the Bible where we see a reference to work is in Genesis 1:27-28. In these foundational verses we discover our original creation, and the reasons for which we were created.
First, we read that God created us for relationship with HIM. This is implied in the fact that we are created in the IMAGE of GOD.
Second, we read that God created us for relationship with OTHERS. This is implied in the phrase, “Male and female he created THEM.” He did not create us to be alone, but rather in relationships with others, the most intimate of those relationships being the marriage relationship.
But the third implication of our creation comes from God’s first command to the newly created couple. They were told to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” In God’s command to bring forth children to fill God’s new and beautiful earth, he instructed the couple that they were to take care of his new creation through their own efforts.
Note that this command to take care of God’s garden came before the fall. We were created to work from the very beginning, and I think that this implies that we will work for God, taking care of the new heavens and new earth that he will re-created after the Lord’s return.
Knowing this reveals to us that work involves much more than simply those things that we do to earn a paycheck. WORK is anything that we do to CREATE and MANAGE GOD’S WORLD.
(1) taking care of our pets
(2) raising our children
(3) arranging our homes
(4) making things
(5) Employment
(6) creating music
(7) arranging flowers
(8) painting a bedroom
(9) preparing food for ourselves or others
I also find that the closer our labors are connected to to CREATION, the greater our satisfaction from our labor. This is why we many find great satisfaction in creating music, tending gardens, building things, clearing land, or painting pictures. All these activities are the things that we do to reflect God’s creation or to manage it in some way as to help improve our own lives or the lives and happiness of others.
Society today emphasizes entertainment. We are given the impression that we will be happiest when we are entertained and amused. But this provides little satisfaction for us. We are most satisfied when we are creatively using the things that God has given us to improve our lives and provide for others.
My encouragement to you is that if you are discouraged, depressed or frustrated with life that you find some way to connect with God’s creation and make use of the things that He has given. Make a flower arrangement, create a lovely meal to share with others, paint a picture, write a poem, re-arrange the things God has given in your home, organize your clutter because God’s creation is orderly, not chaotic - all of these creation-driven activities put us in harmony with God’s command to “subdue the earth,” and his blessing is upon them!
The second part about our work is that it Blesses Others
Laban blessed on account of Jacob. Genesis 30:43 "In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys." Laban understood that good things happened in his life and family on account of the blessings of God that flowed on Jacob. This same principle applies in our lives today. The Bible teaches us that God’s blessings on a believer “spill over” to the unbelievers nearby. We see this three ways in Scripture”
HOMES are blessed on account of a believer.
Proverbs 3:33 "The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous."
1 Corinthians 7:14 "For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy."
CITIES are blessed on account of a believer. Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight."
NATIONS are blessed on account of a believer. Proverbs 14:34 "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
II. Our Work PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY to TRUST GOD
God’s Blessing outweighed Laban’s Opposition. For the second time, Laban tries to outsmat Jacob by inviting him to “Name your wages” (see 30:28; 29:15).
Jacob asks for NOTHING (30:31). He trusts God. He agrees to continue to work for Laban in return for only the spotted and speckled portions of the flock - a statistical minority that in human terms would certainly weigh in Laban’s favor.
Jacob’s response is similar to ABRAHAM’S when he separated from Lot (Gen 13:11)
Jacob’s offer was something on the lines of FINANCIAL SUICIDE. “He bargains only to claim those animals that are rare and not yet born” NAC K. A. Mathews, vol. 1B, Genesis 11:27–50:26, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 493.
Laban TAKES ADVANTAGE of Jacob’s generosity by separating all of the animals, claiming his own and moving the herd far enough from Jacob that Jacob’s starting point would be a very small portion of the flock. 30:35-37. “For greater security, Laban immediately removed all the animals of abnormal color, giving them to his sons and not to Jacob. And as an additional precaution he placed a three-day journey between them. Thus he was seeking to ensure that Jacob would have a difficult time acquiring a large herd.” BKC. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), Ge 30:25–36.
But in spite of Laban’s mest efforts, God’s Blessing came as Jacob Labored. “Jacob did HIS BEST and GOD DID THE REST.”
Jacob trusted God, but at the same time applied all of his best efforts and accumulated experience to the task at hand. He didn’t just sit back and say, “now God bless me.” He trusted God and did his part at the same time.
Jacob takes the SPECKLED and SPOTTED animals. These were RECESSIVE TRAITS. “The dominant color traits in Laban’s flocks and herds were evidently white among the sheep, black among the goats, and brown among the cattle. Most of the animals were of these colors, but there were a few that were spotted and speckled among the cattle and goats, and brown among the sheep. It was of such as these that Jacob’s pay would be.” Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), 473.
Jacob WORKED HARD, using ALL OF HIS KNOWLEDGE - Jacob’s response teaches us that ultimately, the blessing comes from GOD and not our efforts.
a. 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. " "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
b. Psalm 75:6–7 "No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. " "But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another."
c. Deuteronomy 8:17–18 "You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” " "But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today."
Some of Jacob’s efforts were ACCURATE. For example, Jacob knew that recessive jeans appear even when not evident in the parents. EXAMPLE: our grandson Gabriel has BLUE EYES, even though his parents both have BROWN EYES. Blue eyes are recessive traits and can appear even if a both parents have brown eyes. Jacob was an observer and learner and knew that he could breed more speckled and spotted animals by carefully breeding the speckled and spotted together. Jacob knew to SEPARATE the spotted and speckled animals. Gen 30:40-42
But some of Jacob’s information about breeding animals seems to be inaccurate. Jacob follows cultural ideas about breeding. No scientific accuracy to putting stripped branches in front of the animals (Gen 30:37-39).
There is a play on words here - the Hebrew word for “white” is Laban. Jacob put the sheep in front of “Laban branches” and the result was that the young were not white, but specked! “Jacob peeled back the bark on the sticks and exposed the white (la?an), he saw his flocks grow. He played the Laban game and won—he outwitted “Whitey.” John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), Ge 30:37–43.
The point is that GOD BLESSES our labors, even if we don’t get everything perfectly right! This is comforting because God is simply looking for our best efforts, not perfection.
Laban’s actions were SELFISH and UNFAIR, but they could not overcome God’s blessings!
Psalm 118:6 "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Psalm 37:12–17 "The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; " "but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. " "The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. " "But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. " "Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; " "for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous."
III. God is looking for SOMEONE to BLESS!
2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”"
Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
Years ago a young man began a small cheese business in Chicago. He failed. He was deeply in debt. “You didn’t take God into your business. You have not worked with Him,” said a Christian friend to him. Then the young man thought, “If God wants to run the cheese business, He can do it, and I’ll work for Him and with Him!” From that moment, God became the senior partner in his business. The business grew and prospered and became the largest cheese concern in the world! You ask the name of that young man? J. L. Kraft who became president of the Kraft Cheese Company! (Paul Tan, 7,700 illustrations).
If you apply the lessons from Jacob, you will find
great joy in your labor,
great blessing from God
great blessing to others
and great confidence as you see God provide your needs!
