- Due to all the opportunities that God gives in and through work, we may thank Him. We may thank Him for the work He gives us; we may thank Him for the fact that He wants to work though us and our work, and we may thank Him because He provides the means and the talents to do our work.46
- Each day that we are allowed to work is a great gift from God to us. If we may and can work, then we owe this to God. Without Him we would not exist and working would have been impossible. Our work is not our merit, but God’s.
- Let us realize that working is God’s miracle. Just consider what is necessary to lift a stone, let alone to build a house. Consider what is necessary to stitch a cut, let alone to operate on a patient. Consider what is necessary to borrow money, let alone run a bank. How ingenious God is that He invented and designed people such that they can make, create, and produce. How ingenious is God that people can plow, sow, and harvest; that people can care and pamper; that people can create, arrange, and compile; that people can build, administer, and guard. Consider how ingenious God is that people cannot just work, but also work together, cooperate to live together, and create a society; and that people all in all can think, feel, and move. God is masterful. Every day that we are allowed to work, or others are working for us, we may admire God; it is a godsend, a gift of general mercy, general grace.
- Even though our work is impaired and stained due to original sin, work is not inherently sinful. If Jesus as a human worked as a carpenter for years without any sin, then working is not sinful by default. Work is not the consequence of original sin, even though work is cursed by original sin with difficulties and hardship.47
- That a lot of work, such as regulation, control, and guarding, is the result of original sin does not make them sinful. Otherwise, the work of a preacher would be sinful too.
- Because of original sin, work has become more important for God: more work is needed to curb, endure, and repair the consequences of sin. Without all this work, the world would be hell. The world would be unlivable without doctors and nurses, without police officers and soldiers, without cleaners and repairers. Because there is so much sin in the world, a lot of work is necessary to combat the suffering. Our hands are full just with the fight against disease, poverty, and pollution alone.48
- Work is a blessing. It is a blessing from God that we may work, that He gives us work, and make us part of His masterpiece. Because work comes from God, it is a blessing. Work is a blessing, even though this does not guarantee that all our works will be blessed.
- The biggest gift is not that we may work, but that God works49 and that God the Father, through the redemptive work by Jesus Christ, gives us salvation and reconciliation.
- 2 Corinthians 9:8
- Genesis 3:17
- Romans 8:22-23
- John 5:17
Questions
- For what in my work do I give thanks to God? Do I do this often enough? And is there something in my work for which I forget to give thanks to God? (#1)
- How big a gift from God do I think work is? (#2)
- In my own words, why is working a miracle from God? And can I say the same about the work that I do and see around me? (#3)
- Do I agree that work is not inherently or by definition sinful? (#4)
- Is my current job the result of original sin? In other words, would my job exist if there had been no original sin? (#5)
- Which sins does my work combat? (#6)
- In what way does my work form a part of God’s masterpiece? Or is it impossible or inappropriate to say? (#7)
- Do I experience work as a blessing? And what are the blessings in my work? (#7)
- When we talk about people’s work, can we talk about the work of God in this connection? Or is that totally incomparable? (#8)