A big part of God’s design for our finances is work. Unfortunately, many people fail to make the connection between hard work and prosperity. Or even worse, they fail to realize how slacking off at work is keeping them from getting the promotion they “know” they deserve and keeping them from making a decent income.
In this article, we are going to take a look at what the Bible has to say about work. Let’s explore.
God Himself Worked And Delegates Us To Work As Well
We see from page 1 of the Bible that God is at work with His creation. For six days, He worked and created everything we see today. The sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth with everything in it. All of it is a work of His hands.
He even continues to work today in our lives and taking care of His creation. But He does delegate us to work as well.
The first mention of this is in Genesis chapter 2. In the Garden of Eden He placed Adam “to tend and watch over it.” Prior to that, the Bible tells us that no one was there to cultivate the soil. (Genesis 2:5) God could have cultivated the soil Himself, but He wants us to work as well.
Work Wasn’t Originally The Burden That We View It Today
Few sounds heard on this earth are worse than the Monday morning alarm clock. It is the staple meme that we see floating around social media on Sunday afternoons. Many popular songs have been written complaining about how bad the daily grind is. Many of us dread it and if we dwell on it too much it’ll ruin our weekend. 
We get cuts, blisters, and bruises from it. We get repetitive motion injuries requiring maximum strength Motrin and sometimes surgery to fix. We get tension headaches and other stress related problems from dealing with patients and clients day in and day out. It’s exhausting.
But it wasn’t always this way.
The reason that work isn’t more enjoyable for us is because of sin. That’s right. We read about it here:
“And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of it’s grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” ~Genesis 3:17-19 NLT~
Because Adam disobeyed God’s single command in the garden, paradise was lost. And one of the direct punishments of that disobedience, was that work became “work”.
But the curse of man doesn’t just affect professional landscapers. It carries over to every other line of work as well.
Work Is An Act Of Worship
Have you ever looked at work and considered it an act of worship? We tend to view worship as singing songs on Sunday mornings. But in fact, worship affects every aspect of our lives, including work.
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.” ~Colossians 3:23-24 NLT~
We all know that jerk of a boss. Some of us ARE that jerk of a boss. (Stop it!) We dream of better situations where we are going to storm out of our workplace and proclaim our freedom and finally break free. When we finally do act on that dream, we often find ourselves a few months later in the same situation or even worse someplace else.
If we change our mindset and do as Paul instructs us, we would be a lot better off. Consider a few ideas to help you “worship” at work.
1. Pray each day before you go in.
2. Pray throughout the day. (Paul also tells us to pray without ceasing. Be in constant conversation and quiet prayer to your heavenly Father)
3. View your place of employment as a mission field and a chance to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone who needs Him.
4. Be content with what you have and be thankful that God has blessed you with an opportunity to work.
When I did factory work, I absolutely hated going into work each day. I had more attendance points than anyone else who still had their job. I was on the “final of all final warnings” and had to go talk to the head of HR, who reluctantly gave me “one more chance”. My attitude was terrible and all I could do was get home and start hitting the online job boards.
But, over time, God started working in me and I started being a lot more thankful for even having a job to complain about.
We Must Work Hard And Avoid Laziness
Are we giving it our all when we are at work? Or are we doing just enough to get by. We see the lack of motivation all over these days. Don’t believe me? Try to get decent help in a big box hardware store. You can forget about timely service at most restaurants as well.
Most employees are standing around and playing on their phones. The others seem to be hiding in the break room!
The Bible tells us to work hard and to avoid laziness. Check out these 2 verses:
“If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.” ~Ephesians 4:28 NLT~~
And before you tell me, “Well, that only applies to thieves.” Check out this one:
“A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.” ~Proverbs 18:9 NLT~
When you look at the whole context in the book of Ephesians, Paul is instructing us to live a new life, that is pleasing to God, and to throw off the ways of the world.
Remember the verse in Colossians we read above about how we are to work as if we are working for the Lord, and not for men?
Realize this, we are representing the Kingdom of God!
Does your boss or coworkers know that you are a Christian? If not, we might need to have a separate discussion.
But assuming they do, how does it look if they see us slacking off all the time? Wasting time? Playing on social media and our phones. Showing up late or calling off?
We may very well be the only gospel and sermon they will ever see. If all Christian employees would follow the Bible’s advice at work, it would lead to a huge transformation both inside and outside the workplace!
If We Don’t Work (And Are Capable) We Are On Dangerous Ground
The current political establishments are making it more and more appealing to just, flat out, not work. Hint: it’s actually a part of their plan. But it’s not the way God intended it at all.
As we’ve explored, God calls us to work, and He blesses the work of our hands. We need to be contributing to our own homes, our church, and our society in some beneficial way.
Now, there are legitimate people who cannot, due to medical or other reasons, work. I am not shaming these people in any way. In fact, I know many people who are on “medical retirement” due to injuries suffered while trying to provide for their family.
But, we all know far too many people, who found loopholes or other ways to manipulate the system, who are just refusing to work and looking for the next handout. Here are 2 verses that might help address that issue:
“For when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” ~2 Thessalonians 3:10 NASB~
How about this one?
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” ~1 Timothy 5:8 NASB~
The bottom line is this: If you are capable of working, get off the couch and start providing for yourself or your family! Stop looking for the next handout.
God Can Bring Promotion To The Unqualified
Want to get promoted but don’t have that 4 year “sheet of paper”? Don’t ever think that God can’t promote you! There are several stories in the Bible that illustrate this point. One of my favorites is the story of Joseph in Genesis.
He was a prisoner, sold into slavery by his own brothers. But God blessed him, and he became Pharaoh’s right-hand person and was one of the most important people of the day! Without him, everyone would have starved from the famine! Through his obedience and faith in God, he was promoted.
Show up, work hard, go the extra mile and watch what God will do. It may not be the exact position you thought you wanted, but it could be something even better!
Final Thoughts
Work is a necessary part of this life. It’s probably going to be a big part of our next life as well. We aren’t just going to be sitting up on a cloud strumming a harp. We know that there is going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Many Pastors believe that we will have a huge role in maintaining it, just as Adam was brought to the Garden of Eden to cultivate it, and work it, we will probably have a role to play as well. It just won’t have the burden that was brought on by Adam’s disobedience!
Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving us passions, talents, and skills that we can use to bless others and to provide for our families. Forgive us, Lord, when we allow the curse of the garden to overshadow the blessing that You give through work. Help us to view it as worship and be the light in the workplace. May our coworkers see something different in us that makes them wonder more about You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
In what ways has God blessed you through your work? I’d love to read about it in the comment section down below.
