The Joy of Working

There are a lot of things said in the Bible about work, things we’ve spoken about in past sermons.
A. It was instituted by God before man’s fall into sin. Gen.2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Man was created to engage the creation, to learn about it and figure it out, to arrange it and work it, to harness it and order it and make it productive.
B. It was cursed by God in response to human sin. God announced this curse to Adam in Gen.3:17-19: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” The same project of working God’s creation continues but now with pain, toil, and sweat.
C. Work is vain. In this world, we long for wholeness and find brokenness. We long for harmony and find conflict. in spite of our greatest efforts, we can’t fix it or bring substantial restoration. The results of all our work are fading and unsatisfying. We have already seen this in the book of Ecclesiastes:
1. Eccl.1:2-3 “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity! What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?”
2. Eccl.2:4-6, 11 “I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees... Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
D. There is even more futility in working so hard that it is as if you think work is the essence of life.
1. Psalm 127:2 “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil.”
2. Eccl.4:6 “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”
E. Work is nonetheless a Christian duty.
1. “We urge you, brothers, to ... work with your hands.” (1Thessalonians 4:10-12)
2. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28)
3. Titus 3:14 “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.”
4. We have a responsibility to those under our care: 1Tim.5:8.
5. “...by working hard in this way we must help the weak” (Acts 20:35)
6. “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” (2Thessalonians 3:10)
7. Work is not optional. Even if you don’t enjoy it, it doesn’t give you an excuse not to do it.
F. God calls us to a life balanced between work and rest (the Sabbath principle). It is not enough to work hard. It is not enough to relax. We must do both — in proper balance.
G. Work can be done with the wrong motives, but should be done for the glory of God.
1. Eccl. 4:4 “And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
2. Col.3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Also 1Cor.10:31.)
3. For some, work is a process of exploiting others, of taking advantage of others for one’s own benefit. But the child of God gladly serves the heavenly Father and His creatures on His behalf.
H. But this morning, I would like to focus on the theme of the joy of work...
2. Work is enjoyable.
A. After Ecclesiastes makes clear that there is no ultimate fulfillment in this world, after it shows that this world is not going to be the way we think it should be, it tells us that God has given people pleasures to enjoy, like eating, drinking and working:
B. Ecclesiastes 2:24 “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.”
C. Ecclesiastes 3:10–13 “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”
D. Ecclesiastes 3:22 “So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?”
1. We looked at this verse a month ago when I preached on the value of uncertainty about the future. However, if we allow it, uncertainty about the future can destroy our joy in the work we have to do today.
2. You see, we don’t know what tomorrow holds. No matter how much we fret, we can’t find it out. But we should not allow our uncertainty about the future to prevent us from making the most out of today’s opportunity.
3. Usually we know what we need to do today. There are dishes to clean. There are errands to run and bills to be paid. There are kids to parent. There are showers to take. There are bosses to serve. There is homework to finish.
4. God calls us to enjoy where we are, to make the most out of what we know we have to do, instead of worrying about the future.
2. This says a lot to all of us no matter where we are in life.
A. The bottom line is that we’re going to have to wait for the best stuff. It’s not for here or for now. However, while we’re waiting for the best stuff, God has given us some good stuff to do. The Lord has not left us without some earthly pleasures while we’re waiting for the far greater eternal ones.
1. And the book of Ecclesiastes mentions four in particular: food, drink, marriage (Eccl.9:9), and work.
2. Work is more than just a duty. It’s a blessing! We get to do something! We get to build something! We get to participate in the work God is doing!
3. The creation which God has called us to work on is such a blessing, and full of the glory of God.
4. Sure, in some ways it is hard. But there’s also joy in it. It’s fun seeing the product of your hands.
B. As a source of ultimate fulfillment, as a source of finding meaning in life, work is vain. But work can be fun.
C. God loves His world. And He loves the people in it. And does He not enjoy providing for the needs of His creatures and helping them in their need? God calls us to love the people God has created as well, and to serve them in our labors. Work is a way of loving our neighbor. And God gives us a love for our neighbor so that it is a joy to serve others.
D. If you love your work, don’t feel guilty but give thanks to God. That’s a great blessing.
E. If you don’t love your work, that isn’t necessarily because there’s something wrong with you. It might be to protect you from idolatry. It might be to teach you to find your happiness in Christ.
F. But still we can almost always find something to love and something to enjoy in what God calls us to do.
3. Application for those among us who are still too young to be searching seriously for a vocation.
A. You may not like to work now. You may see homework or chores as misery which has to be endured before you can spend time with friends or play video games.
B. Right now, you’re living off of your parents work. That’s nice, but there’s something important you need to know:
1. It will soon come to an end. You will spend a lot of the rest of your life working.
C. Now work can be enjoyable. Some kinds of work are more enjoyable than others.
D. The sooner you accept the fact that you will inevitably spend most of your life working, the better off you’ll be.
4. Application for young adults looking for a career
A. Often you hear people say today: “Find something you love to do.” In general, I believe, it is a good and important principle.
1. There are occupations which you were made for. They conform well to your talents and preferences. There are occupations that don’t fit with your personality.
2. The same work is not enjoyable to all. One person’s dream job is another person’s nightmare.
3. You ought to look for a kind of work you can enjoy. In the end, the joy of your work will be more important to you than the financial profit of your work.
4. As you search for a suitable career, you ought to look for: Something you believe in. Something you think is important. Something people need. Something you enjoy. Something you’re good at. Something within reach (re: natural abilities, training opportunities, locale, resources). Something you can make a living with, and provide for a family.
B. But the advice also has limitations.
1. Every job has difficult and laborious parts. The thorns and thistles and the sweat of your brow are in every workplace.
2. Though it’s a good goal to find a job you love, sometimes God doesn’t bless people with a career that fits their gifts and personality . E.g.
a. The Chinese Christian imprisoned for his faith who works in a sweat shop.
b. Men I met in the Kenyan bush who longed for education but for whom it was an impossible.
c. The person who has to get a job to provide for a family and can’t find anything he loves.
3. After all, God’s goal isn’t just to make things work well here on the earth, but to prepare us for another life.
4. Work does not ultimately fulfill us and can be a distraction from our need for God.
5. Even if God does not provide a job we love, there are still enjoyable aspects of the work, if we look for them.
C. So, as you search for a suitable career, it is important to understand what you’re getting into.
1. It has significant limitations: it is toilsome, and vain.
2. It is all about loving and serving your fellow man.
3. It is a calling from God, to serve Him with the strength, intelligence, skills and opportunities He’s given you.
D. Let me close by saying two things about the issue of money.
1. A job is not just something a person does for the good of the neighbor, but for many it is something they do for the good of their family. A job is a means of providing for your own needs and your family’s needs (see Titus 3:14; 1Tim.5:8).
a. Paul’s tent-making: Isn’t it interesting that Paul never said he made tents because God called him to, or because he loved doing it, or because he was so good at it. All he says is that he did it to meet his own needs and for the sake of his ministry?
2. Much of the advice you hear today in our materialistic society is about how to find a well-paying career. But we must be very wary of this mindset. Money is not a good goal. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1Timothy 6:10 )
a. The Proverbs are full of warnings about the lure of getting rich quick (e.g. Prov.28:19).
b. Oh! the unhappiness of a life spent doing something that only makes you money !