"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." (Genesis 2:15, ESV)
Work. Even from the beginning, before the fall, there was work. Work is important. As I hit my mid-life, I am far away from retirement and can't imagine not having something to do everyday, but at the same time I am reminded everytime I turn on the TV that I need to be saving for retirement. Isn't the great goal of life, a sign of success and responsibility, to get to a place where no longer do we have to work?
It's only been within the last century or so that people looked forward to something called retirement. People would work, then one day they would die when their bodies were used up. There were no early bird specials, no senior cruises, no 30 years of decline and doctor visits and nursing homes and dementia. Moses was being optimistic when he stated that 'the years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty' (Psalm 90:10). Very few have been fortunate enough to live this long. Work was all that was really known, and it was work that often led to an 'early' death.
Work is rightly praised as being something important. Yet it can be idolatrous; I knew an older man one time who was physically and mentally incapable of doing much of anything, but he would continually speak about how God put Adam in the garden to work, and by God, he was going to work until he fell over. I think that's how he died, in fact. For him work meant more than God, more than family, more than happiness. This is idolatry.
Work is vital in this life, and not to be considered an evil, though it does come with 'toil and trouble' (Psalm 90:10), and much of work because of sin is 'cursed' (Genesis 3:17). Yet work is a good thing, even from the beginning. And so it is frustrating to look out and see people who want the money and the benefits of work without having to actually do the work. But isn't this the American way today? How can I do as little as possible but still get paid? It starts from the time kids are in school; kids hope to just get by and seem offended at times that they have homework or are expected to do their best. Certainly this carries over into their worklife; sometimes employees barely show any effort and are offended if they are asked to do anything...this happens in service jobs, blue collar jobs, or even preaching jobs. It is important to teach that having a strong work ethic is a good thing.
But if work is well done, shouldn't it also be well-compensated? For those willing to work hard, shouldn't there be at least a realistic hope that there is security? I have a friend who has a good blue-collar job and recently was told that he would be furloughed for a certain amount of time. This man has a family, he works hard, and is always willing to do his best to the glory of God. But now, because his company CAN, they basically cause him economic problems that it will take him years to get over. They didn't have to do this...they are a multi-billion organization and easily could have figured out a more just way of taking care of him.
And shouldn't there also be a realistic hope that one will not be impoverished even as they work? If you work a full week, you shouldn't have to worry about where your next meal or rent payment will come from if you are responsible with your money, should you? (Of course, this assumes that people know how to manage money to, which should not be assumed; plus, many people today have far too many wants; but that's for another post). I get frustrated when I hear people say that the poor only have themselves to blame, that they should just get better trained if they want a better job. But of course, in this day and age, more schooling (which is a financial burden in itself) is not always a guarantee for better wages. And indeed, we can't all be doctors or lawyers...somebody still has to pick up the garbage, empty the bad pans, and flip the burgers. Don't these people deserve our respect? In a nation of plenty, shouldn't those willing to work reap at least some of the rewards of that work?
Please hear me: I have no sympathy for those unwilling to work...as Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, 'If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.' There are plenty of lazy, feckless people out there. They get what they deserve. But the importance of work needs to be taught, yet also respected and compensated. One without the other makes people either lazy or makes society unjust. We need both a just world but also people who work.
