We were created for work helps us to see that, through working, we can glorify God.
Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
According to the Bible, we should work. But why? Why is work such a big deal in Scripture? One answer is that human beings were created for work. In Genesis 1 we are made in the image of the God who works. God’s first command is that we be fruitful. In Genesis 2, human beings are created to take care of the earth and help it to be productive. So, work is in our DNA, so to speak. That’s not the whole story. There are other reasons why we should work. But the fact that we were created for work helps us to see that, through working, we can glorify God.
As we have seen, Ephesians 4:28 urges us not just to work, but also to work hard. This does not mean, however, that we should work all the time. We need to learn how to work hard, rest regularly, and play joyfully.
Let us consider what Ephesians 4:28 teaches about why we should work. One might answer, “Because the Bible says so.” But Scripture gives us more than mere commands. It also helps us understand the “whys” of our life so that our actions might stem from our own wise choices rather than subservient obedience. Obeying God is always a good thing to do, but it’s even better to choose to obey because we understand God’s will and want to please God.
The first answer to the “Why work?” question is implied in the phrase, “work honestly with your own hands.” God has given us hands not for stealing but for working. If you think of it, almost all work requires the use of hands. (For a moving exception, see this short video.)
Even if your work is primarily a matter of thinking, your hands help you to get your thoughts out so that they might be useful in the world (by writing, keyboarding, texting, drawing, etc.).
God created us with hands—indeed, with bodies—so that we might work in this world. This is clear from the creation accounts in Genesis. In chapter 1, God created human beings so that we might do the work of stewarding the world, helping it to flourish. In Genesis 2, the man and then the woman is put in God’s garden in order to do the work of taking care of it and helping it to be fruitful.
Thus, one reason why we work is that we have been created for this very purpose. We have hands and arms and brains and eyes and mouths and legs and ears and the rest so that we might work in this world. As we use our bodies to do good work, we fulfill a core purpose of God for our lives, thus serving and glorifying him. We love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
This truth may already be well-known to you. It may give meaning and energy to your daily work. But as I have spent much of my own recent work focusing on the integration of faith and work, I have discovered that many people – including many Christians – do not think of their daily work as a way to love God. Work is necessary for survival. It may even be something that people enjoy. But they have yet to discover that through their work they are able to honor and glorify God. Remember what it says in Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” One of the main ways we can present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God is through our daily work.
Our work matters because, by working, we are able to add to the goodness of the world.
If we were to read Ephesians 4:28 in the original Greek, we’d see a call to do good work. Our work matters because, by working, we are able to add to the goodness of the world. This is true whether you are a carpenter, a mother, a teacher, or a small business owner. When we recognize that one of the reasons we work is to do what is good, this encourages us, even if our work is relatively small and obscure. When we do good work for God, God is glorified. Our work becomes worship.
Why should you work? Beyond obvious answers like, “To earn money so I can eat,” there are deeper biblical reasons. We saw that we were created by God for work. We should work because that’s why we exist; at least that’s part of the reason. Let's look at another answer to the “Why work?” question.
Ephesians 4:28 says that thieves (and by obvious implication, all people) must “labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.” This translation gets the basic sense of the verse but misses key nuances. Consider, for example, the phrase “work honestly with their own hands.” The original Greek could be translated more literally, “working with their own hands that which is good [to agathon].” The Greek word agathos can mean “honestly,” as in the NRSV rendering, but this would not be the standard sense of the word.
In Ephesians 2:10, God created us in Christ “for good [agathois] works.” Romans 8:28 promises, “We know that all things work together for good [agathon] for those who love God.” In Mark 10:18, Jesus says, “No one is good [agathos] – except God alone.” So, it would be a much more natural translation to say, “labor and do good work with their own hands.”
Doing honest work is a good thing, to be sure. But the worth of our work goes far beyond honesty. The more important point is that, through our work, we are able to contribute a bit of goodness to the world. Why work? Because we can do good through our work. The carpenter, the artist, the teacher, and the doctor are all doing good work. The same is true for the mother, the gardener, the accountant, and the pastor.
Now, of course, some kinds of work are not good. Thievery, for example, does not add goodness to the world. Yet, when we do work that reflects God’s design for life when our work serves others when our work enhances community and culture, then it has value because of the goodness it contributes. Our work is good in part because what it accomplishes is good.
At this point, some of us might be tempted to discount the goodness our own work produces because it isn’t large in scope. What we do doesn’t seem to add up to much. But God is not interested so much in the quantity of our accomplishment as in its quality. Remember the story in the Gospels known as the Widow’s Mite. Though wealthy people had given large amounts to the temple, Jesus said a poor widow’s tiny gift counted as more than what the others had given because she “put in everything” (Mark 12:43-44).
The greatest testimony to the value of ordinary work comes from Jesus himself. After all, he was God in human flesh, the Word of God Incarnate. What did he do with the majority of his waking hours as an adult? He didn’t rule over nations. He didn’t command mighty armies. He didn’t build a grand temple. He didn’t even preach or heal for most of his adult life. No, Jesus worked in virtual anonymity as a craftsman in a small village in the countryside. He built tables, chairs, and walls. In human terms, what he did – didn’t add up to much. But Jesus was being faithful, honoring his Father in heaven through doing good work, even if it was relatively small in scope.
So it is with our work. What you do today might contribute goodness to thousands of lives, or it may make a very small difference to one other person, or it may be a tiny part of a giant project. Nevertheless, you work because you can do good and this matters profoundly to God. He receives the goodness of your work as worship.
Ephesians also shows that work is good because it enables us to help those who are in need.
Scripture gives us many answers to the question “Why work?” Genesis shows us that we were created for work. It also reveals what is confirmed in Ephesians, namely, that work itself can be good if it produces things of value. But Ephesians also shows that work is good because it enables us to help those who are in need. We are able to share with others some of the money we make through working. Or we can use our professional skills to serve others without charging them. By working we are able to glorify God, offering ourselves in worship through our work.
Through working, you faithfully fulfill the mandate given to human beings in creation (Genesis 1:28; 2:15). Moreover, your work can contribute to God’s kingdom purposes (Ephesians 2:10).
Ephesians 4:28 offers one more reason why you should work. Notice carefully the last phrase of this verse: “Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.” When we read this phrase, we naturally think in terms of money. By working, we make money, some of which we can share with those in need. This interpretation of Ephesians 4:28 is surely faithful to its basic intent. But, as a craftsman, Paul might also have been thinking of another kind of sharing. Perhaps he remembered times when he used his skills as a leatherworker to create or mend items for people who could not afford his services. In our day, we might think of farmers who allow hungry people to glean in their fields or attorneys who work pro bono for the disadvantaged. Through their work, they are able to help those in need.
So, no matter how you fulfill Ephesians 4:28, the main point is the same. Your work enables you to “have something to share with the needy.” What I find fascinating about this reason for work is that Paul seems to assume that workers will share with the needy. He doesn’t argue that they should do this but speaks as if they will, quite naturally. Or quite spiritually. When we consider all the ways God has blessed us, when we open our hearts to people in need, then the Spirit of God will move us to give generously to others. It “just happens” as we live in the flow of God’s gracious Spirit.
A word of caution is due here. Many Christians in so-called “secular work” believe that their work matters to God primarily if not exclusively because of what they are able to give away to charity, including the church. This pervasive belief takes one reason for work in our passage (sharing with the needy) but leaves behind the others (your created purpose, doing good). As you think about work in general, and as you consider your own work, may you think broadly and truly about the value of your work. It’s great if because of your work you have the means to give money away to worthy causes, including those in need. But the goodness of your work includes more than this.
Why should you work? Because you were created for this purpose. Because you can do good through your work. And because your work enables you to share with those in need. As you work today, whether you are being paid or not, put on your new self in Christ and offer your life as worship to God.
Comentarios