What God Says About Work

Let’s face it. Most of us will spend a significant amount of our lives at work. But what does God say about work? Let’s briefly look at what the Bible says about how we spend a significant portion of our days. 

A God Who Works 

The first time the word “work” appears in the Bible, it does not refer to the activity of man, but to the activity of God. In Genesis 2:2-3, all of God’s activity in creation (which began in Genesis 1:1 and continued through the entirety of the first chapter) is summed up as work.  

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” – Genesis 2:2-3 

The crown jewel of God’s creative work is humanity. Men and women were made in God’s image (Gen 1:26-27). But these image-bearers weren’t just meant to be a part of creation. From the very beginning, they were given work to do. They were meant to steward and expand God’s work. 

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

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” – Genesis 1:28 

All of this teaches us something important about the nature of work: at its core, work is a good thing that God began and invited us into. Our work in stewarding creation is one of the primary ways we put God’s glory on display. 

Work and the Fall 

Work, like all of God’s good creation, was corrupted when sin entered the world. God’s words to Adam after his sin make clear the consequences of his actions. In Genesis 3, God declares that the ground is cursed as a result of Adam’s sin. He says, “… in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you….By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (vv. 17-19). 

We can infer from these verses that God did not originally intend for work to be painful or burdensome. These realities are the consequences of living in a fallen world. Like the rest of creation, work needs redemption. 

A Time to Rest 

While work is a good thing commanded by God, He also commanded that we rest. One of the Ten Commandments God gave Moses in Exodus 20 was to keep the Sabbath. One out of every seven days should be set apart as holy, and no work should be done on that day. 

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” –  Exodus 20:8-11 

The Israelites were commanded to give everyone rest on the Sabbath, including their servants, their livestock, and foreigners in their land. This is based on the example set by God in Genesis 2. He spent six days creating the earth, but He rested on the seventh. 

What Jesus Said About Work 

When Jesus spoke about work and rest, He focused on the motives of the heart. He challenged His listeners to consider what and whom they were working for. Most people work for temporary, material gain. Christ calls His followers to work for what is eternal. Jesus said His food was to do the will of the Father (John 4:34), and to the crowds He said, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:27). 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said the following words: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). A few sentences later, He said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). 

At the end of the same chapter, Jesus told His listeners not to be anxious about what they would eat, drink, or wear. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  

When the Pharisees criticized Jesus and His followers for picking grain on the Sabbath, He said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). 

The Church’s Witness Through Work 

Throughout the Epistles (letters to the Church), work is described as part of the Church’s witness to Jesus’ saving work on the cross. When we do good work with a good attitude, we “adorn the doctrine of God our savior” (Titus 2:9-10). We are commanded to “do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15). After reminding the Ephesians that they are saved by grace through faith in Christ, the Apostle Paul says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). 

The Apostle Paul commands bondservants to obey their earthly masters, not as a means of people-pleasing, but sincerely, as though they are working for the Lord rather than men (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-24). Masters, likewise, are commanded to treat their bondservants fairly and not to threaten them, “knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him” (Ephesians 6:9). 

In his letters, Paul also speaks strongly against laziness. He says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). He also writes, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Overall, we are to “aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). 

Work in the New Creation 

Isaiah 65:17-25 records God’s words about the “new heavens and a new earth” (v.17), language that is repeated in Revelation 21:1. Part of Isaiah’s description of this new creation involves work: 

“They shall build houses and inhabit them; 

    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 

They shall not build and another inhabit; 

    they shall not plant and another eat; 

for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, 

    and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” 

– Isaiah 65:21-22 

In the new creation, just as in the Garden of Eden, man will be given work to do. We know that this work will not involve mourning, crying, or pain, “…for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Our work will be fully and finally redeemed, and we will enjoy the work of our hands forever.  

Although work can at times be unpleasant, it is fundamentally a good thing that Christians must engage in. While we are commanded to set aside time for rest, it is important that we work diligently with sincere hearts so that others might see Jesus through our efforts. As Christians, let us work not for earthly treasure and admiration, but for Christ and for His kingdom.