Labor Day

Genesis 2:2 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 2:15 And the LordGod took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

Happy Labor Day to all those in the US and elsewhere who benefit from a day-off from their labor. Strange right, to celebrate a day of labor by not working. God started the right to work in the very first day of the creation process while resting on the seventh day when He finished. 

The seventh day was actually blessed by God with the direction it is a Holy or a Sacred Day. The irony is God creates a billion galaxies along with life on planet earth in seven days. A day of rest was much needed as an example for us in our labor. 

Jewish people and some Christians do not work from when the sunsets on Friday until the same time period on Saturday. One full day of rest. A famous fast food restaurant with Christian values closes on Sundays. 

For the past 13 years, I have done a similar thing.  It starts on Friday night at 6 pm with shutting down my work computer until Sunday night at 6 pm.   Yes, it is two days of rest from work; but as all married men know, there are personal things around the house and with our cars that need to get done. In the end, I get a full day’s rest.

There are times at work when I put in 12-14-hour days for many weeks with no end in sight. This much work usually puts me on a collision course with hitting a wall. When this happens, my brain just shuts down. I can always tell because my short-term memory starts to go as well. 

Low and behold, that is exactly what happened this past week. With Labor Day approaching, I tried to hold off taking a vacation day. It is with great joy that I took the day off on Friday. This is the reason I missed the blog on Monday, my brain was full.  The words would not come out.  

God gave Adam the first job which was to till and tend the garden. Adam was a farmer/gardener. Later we read, Adam and Eves first two children had jobs, Abel tended sheep while Cain tilled the ground. 

Perhaps the most important section on work comes from Solomon in Ecclesiastes. I wrote a blog on “Vanity” on June 3rd which you can read further. For this blog, Solomon tells us that we can labor too much where our earthly possessions become so great that we can’t enjoy them with our time on earth. 

We are also reminded in 2 Thessalonians that people who do not work, shall not eat. God put man to work in the beginning to provide food for them to live. I have met some amazing people or have come across people who have some serious disabilities that work hard while enjoying the fruits of their labor. 

Pastor Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs yet preaches the gospel to millions of people around the world. He has done more work without arms and legs than some have ever done with their strong able bodies. 

Lisa has worked years at a fast food restaurant. She works despite her challenges with down syndrome. Here is the kicker, she loves Jesus Christ and speaks about her faith to others.  People go to this restaurant to see her. The unfortunate part is she moved to a new city, at least this is what the manager said to me. I have not been back since. 

There is a fine balance of work and life where we can enjoy the fruits of our labor while still being a Christian. God rested on the seventh day; we all need to rest. Enjoy this day off, it is much deserved.