Do you think that before the fall it was a holiday everyday? A continuous vacation without vocation?
It is stated in Genesis. God created man and woman with the capacity, responsibility and need to work. Genesis 1:28 “ Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it”. Subdue the earth or rule over the earth required some work to be done. In Genesis 2:15, God is keeping man in charge of the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Do you think that cultivating the garden involves work? (we have malis!….) In the Garden of Eden, bushes had to be trimmed, plants had to be thinned, fallen leaves had to be cleared, animals had to be kept away from the flower beds etc.
Well then what did fall do to man? What was the curse that God gave?
The curse outlined in Genesis 3:17-19 cannot be the introduction of work or even the introduction of hard work. Sin brought in disorder into the world making work difficult, demanding, frustrating and unending. The curse added a negative dimension to a positive aspect.
Is your work exciting and fulfilling? God made it that way. Is your work hard? God put that challenge into it? Is your work frustrating, boring, repetitive, even frightening? It could be the result of the curse. It could be your attitude. Maybe you need to change your job, may be you need to change your attitude or maybe you need to change both. Work is integral to our well-being and to God’s program. God has called no one to sit idle (I Thess. 4:11; II Thess. 3: 10-12)
Many wrongly think that doing the Lord’s work means full-time Christian ministry. The ministry is important but to limit Christian vocation to being a full-time preacher, missionary or a church worker may not be right. Our careers are called to be in alignment with Christ, that is, in alignment with His purposes for us. If we understand our lifetime work to be both a response of obedience to the calling of God upon our lives and an avenue of service for serving humanity, then our careers can be the very avenue of service God has chosen for us. This means that auto mechanics, research scientists, medical doctors, nurses, teachers, govt. officials, business men, cooks, homemakers etc… who follow Jesus in their everyday lives and who view their careers as a means of living for Him are every bit as much “in the ministry” as pastors or missionaries. In the kingdom of God there is no hierarchy of Christian service; only fidelity or lack of fidelity to the call to serve. Your work is a means to serve the Lord and the people of God and hence it should be exciting.
Careerism is very dangerous. It is approaching a job with the dominant thought of “What is in it for me?” What should be our primary motivation for entering any career? Is it for great financial gain and to make a big name for ourselves or to see it as an avenue of serving God and Mankind? Sometimes even promotions, jobs, offers, pay hikes may have to be turned down if it is hindrance for your spiritual growth or hindering you to be a better servant of the Master who has given you life, strength and wisdom to do the work.
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