Work and the Bible

Earlier this semester, I wrote a post about being a Christian in the workplace and balancing, work, relationships and rest. This post will look more into the importance of work and the biblical perspective of work. The importance of work in scripture is evident from the start, and man was created to work.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” —Genesis 2:15

God created us to work. Not in a cruel sense to do his bidding or face his wrath. But to subdue the earth and have dominion over every living creature. In other words, all of life, culture, and work is to reflect the beauty and glory of God. This is emphasis of scriptures about work throughout the Bible. Whether you are a pastor, construction worker, elementary teacher, entrepreneur, or stay-at-home mom, work is engrained in God’s good creation, and it is to mirror his glory. We see this plainly laid out in the verse mentioned above. Jesus himself was a carpenter, and his earthly dad, Joseph, was a carpenter, too. God himself even got his hands dirty when he made “man of dust from the ground.” Not only did God command us to work, but, being created in his image as a Creator, we are hardwired with a desire to create and to work. This does not mean that we are able to create something out of nothing like God. Instead, we can create things out of something already created. From creating a meal out of multiple ingredients to building a house out of different materials, to varying degrees, we can create. What is more, like God, we can bring order out of chaos. “The earth was without form and void And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  As the Spirit of God brought order to creation, we too can bring order to the world we live in, as redemptive entrepreneurs we must work hard and do it all for the glory of God.