Day 6: What The Bible Says About Work

Bible Reading: John 5:16-23

Does work come with thoughts of pressure for you?

Maybe it was the battalion of plates staring at you for a wash as a five year old that left you concluding that you had been brought into an evil work-based world; or maybe it’s the pressure that stands up to you when you sit at your office table on Monday morning. 

We live in a world so full of a drive towards work. Identity is largely assigned based on what people do. Income/standard of living is largely associated with what people do. Maybe you find yourself in that cycle of working so you can eat, and then eating so you can work, and then working again so you can eat- the only spice to the cycle being the spice on the food you eat.

The Bible has so much to say about work! Do you see the beauty in Jesus words in our reading today?

But Jesus answered them, My Father has worked [even] until now, [He has never ceased working; He is still working] and I, too, must be at [divine] work. John 5:17 AMPC

Work is a beautiful part of God’s design! Adam wasn’t put to work after the fall. Work is the privilege we have to give expression to what God has done. Our work is a vital connection to the purpose of God.

I know the world misrepresents it to us, but the truth is that work does not have to come with a burdening and overwhelming tone. God wants you to see and function in the beauty and delight of work.

The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. Zechariah 4:9 NKJV

It’s a beautiful Bible ‘God-approves-me’; ‘God’s-hand-is-on-me’ thing to work and work through!

Laziness is not about personality types or dispositions. It is simply anti-gospel! It does not in any way find space in the life of a follower of Jesus. Don’t justify it or hide it under any cloaks. The purpose of God will not be filled in the laziness of humanity. The Bible is full of stories of very hard workers that refused to take the grace of God as a cloak for laziness.

I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing. In fact, I have worked harder than all the others—that is, it wasn’t me but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 CEB

God’s word constantly invites to be totally given to putting our hands in the direction of our hearts.

I’ll share three handles you might love to consider in your work space as you look to grow in your work:

Strive to work harder:
Your growth should be marked by the putting in of more effort, as the Holy Spirit enables you. Keep believing for the Lord to strengthen your drive and your hands to do more. 

The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl;
It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth
Proverbs 26:15 NKJV

Be a hardworker!

Strive to work better:
Your growth should also be marked by an improvement in the quality of what you do. Don’t just keep doing things at the same level- constantly keep checks on how you can do what you do in a better way. Excellence at work honours God and is an expression of the Holy Spirit within us, and we must constantly be discovering what it looks like in every season and context of our lives

And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship
Exodus 31:3-5 NKJV 

Don’t just be a hardworker. Strive to be an excellent hardworker.

Strive to work smarter:
Your growth should be marked by greater efficiency in your work. I believe that we must be leveraging on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and finding faster and better ways around what we do.

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession. Proverbs 12:27 NKJV

A passive person won’t even complete a project, but a passionate person makes good use of his time, wealth, and energy. Proverbs 12:27 TPT

Don’t just be an excellent hard worker. Strive to be an efficient excellent hardworker!

Listen to Jesus’ words again:

But he said to them, “My Father never stops working, and so I work too.” John 5:17

Do you realize that your work leaks the genuineness of your relationship with the Father-God?

Tolulope Moody