The Curse Of Death - Part 2 Series

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.(Romans 5:17–19)

Now, notice that the curse that it isn’t particularly on the man personally but it’s on the sphere of the man, as in the case of the woman. The curse was in her relationship with her children and her husband and so it is with the man. Man, who was given dominion over the earth, becomes subordinate to the dirt. There is a permanent disruption in man’s ability to find satisfaction in life. Instead our satisfaction is continually shaken by an unease where we can never find satisfaction. The curse on man was sweat, labor, work, toil. And this, for men, defines life.

Can you identify with that? You work all day, you go home and you can’t go to sleep because you’ve got a problem at work, there are issues, relationships, pressures that need to resolved. There’s the desire to be promoted, the need to earn just a little more, find a good pension and retirement. There is little contentment, even when there are great rewards in work. Work, work, work.

And then there are the effects of that labor. How many of us have permanent physical struggles because of our lifetime of labor. Back pain, joint pain, joint replacements, and the effects of stress, just to name a few. We work hard to find a few weeks of R&R throughout the year and then we hope to find a season of rest in our retirement.

A study of Shell Oil employees shows that people who retire at age 55 and live to be at least 65 die sooner than people who retire at 65. After age 65, the early retirees have a 37% higher risk of death than counterparts that retired at 65. That's not all. People who retire at 55 are 89% more likely to die in the 10 years after retirement than those who retire at 65. A large percentage of men have a major illness within 5 years of retirement.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? (Ecclesiastes 3:9)

There is grace in all of this too. For it is possible for us to find satisfaction in our labors, but the source is not in our pay or the fruits of our labors, but in the redemption of Christ. Even in our salvation we find restoration and fulfillment in our relationship with God

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, (Colossians 3:23)

Our reward and fulfillment in life is not found in the labors of life any more. Now we find fulfillment in serving God has His servant. If you drive a truck, you teach school, you dig ditches, you put in plumbing, you’re a construction worker, you sell insurance, whatever, you are now working for God. Col 3:24 “24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Now all of a sudden, it’s completely different. I’m adorning the doctrine of God for the sake of witness, I’m doing my very best, and I’m offering it to the Lord as an act of worship. And I’m actually laying up eternal reward, which the Lord will give to me when my inheritance is presented.