“And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you: That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (I Thessalonians 4:11,12).

Many in society consider work to be a necessary evil. It is not uncommon to hear exclamations like, “It’s just a job!” or “It gets me a paycheck!” This attitude should be foreign to the believer.

Consider the first mention of work in the Scripture. “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made” (Genesis 2:2). This verse summarizes God’s Creation Week activity in which His work was purposeful and “good.” It was orderly such that the environment was prepared before the creatures were placed in it. After creating man, God assigned him a job: to “subdue” the earth. Work was not a curse but a part of God’s original plan. The command in Exodus 20:11 is not just to rest on the seventh day, but also to fill the other six with work.

Several Bible passages stress the importance of working to meet our needs and provide for our household. But the Christian’s motivation should be loftier—that one should “labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28). Ultimately, our work should be done “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23,24).

Some day our opportunity for accomplishment will be past. Christ gave us this important reminder: “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). DW