I wanted to say here at the beginning of this post that some of our readers have commented that Ruth is not presently writing for our blog. Ruth and I are in different stages of life, so I have more time to write posts. But Ruth is very active in editing all of the posts I write. What you see as my finished product is a joint effort. Ruth sometimes re-words what I have written, or adds clarifying sentences, or adds content. She has played a critical behind-the-scenes role that I value highly. Because of her important role in our blog, we are going to take a break for part of the fall. Ruth is about to deliver her fourth baby! Please pray for a safe and healthy birth, and for her whole family as they go through the exhausting first weeks with a new baby!
I’ve started a series of posts to explore what the Bible has to say about “living justly.” My last post discussed how all people are made in God’s image. Today’s post will be about the dignity of work for all humans.
Last week we looked at Genesis 1 and 2, about humans created in God’s image. In these chapters we also learn that humanity was created to have dominion over God’s creation and to work. Genesis 1:26 says: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” In Genesis 2:15 the Bible says, “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.” In both of these passages we see that the first humans were given work to do in the Garden of Eden. We also see from these verses that we were created for a majestic purpose – to have dominion. Dominion is not evil, even though as a result of sin we have come to distrust those who rule. This dominion was a purpose that preceded the entrance of sin into the world. In creating us with dominion AND as workers, God shows that both are good. Before the fall (the entrance of sin in the world), God intended humans to have dominion over the creation and to work to bring food from the earth which would sustain them. Therefore work is not a product of the fall. This means work is good for humans, and it is part of how we resemble God. There is work that involves creating things, just like God created the universe, and there is work that involves maintaining things, just like God maintains the universe. God is delighted in His work and we, too, can delight in ours.
From Genesis 3:17-19 we learn that human sin has brought struggle into our work:
“The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.”
It is the fall of humanity which brings frustration into work, and conflict into dominion. We all experience this struggle. Many of us can confirm that work is both enjoyable and painful. That has produced conflicting messages about work. For those who are wealthy, work is often not a part of their life plan. For those who must work but have the privilege of choosing their work, they generally choose work that is more enjoyable than painful, more high-paying, and more esteemed. And for those who cannot choose their work, the options are sometimes limited to the work that no one else wants to do.
Even so, that work is valuable, and is often some of the most essential work there is. We have all become familiar with the term “essential workers” during this pandemic. Who are essential workers? They are medical personnel, ranging from the most respected physicians to the less respected but equally needed hospital workers. They are garbage collectors. They are food production, packaging and grocery employees, from the most esteemed to the least esteemed. They are infrastructure workers – those who maintain our utilities and roads. I could list more. One positive aspect of the pandemic is that many of us are beginning to appreciate all of these types of workers, and to be more concerned for their safety and protection. As Christians we can also take comfort in the fact that even if other humans fail to esteem the value of all work, God esteems it. Paul writes in Colossians 3:22-24 to slaves, those who had no say in the work they did, and no status in the eyes of others, “work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.”
I want to draw some implications and applications out as I close this post. I know I have only scratched the surface of what I can say.
- In spite of the effects of sin on our work, work is still a good thing! God is always working, and part of being a human made in His image is to have the privilege to work like Him. That means, whether paid or unpaid, work should be respected. I will have work to do as long as I am able, even if I slow down as I age.
- All work is valuable. I am not an economist, but I find myself questioning some of the premises of capitalism and the free market economy, in how different types of work are valued and remunerated. I will leave for another post some of the Bible passages which relate to this topic, but I want to be personally committed to paying generously for the services which sustain me. And I want to continue to participate in more “lowly” work to serve others, and strive not to think of that work as beneath me.
- Since work is part of our human dignity, we must make every effort to provide a pathway to work for all. Making work accessible and safe is critical to loving our neighbor as ourselves. Employers should do whatever is possible to remove the “thorns and thistles” from the work of their employees, to train workers with care and patience, to pay a fair wage and to treat all employees with dignity and care.
I will close with some sobering verses for employers and for the (relatively) wealthy from James 5:1-5:
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
Nothing escapes the notice of our good Heavenly Father. May we vigilantly examine our attitudes about work and dominion. Our Father intended these for good.