The Oldest Profession (Part 2)

Speaking of the subject of work... It's definitely something that God is pleased with. Or, in another vein, LACK of work is something God is DIS-pleased with. Consider these Proverbs...

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:6-11).

“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame” (Proverbs 10:4-5).

Now, here's the rub... while God seems to be pleased with work, it won't save anyone's soul.

Some individuals actually believe that on the day they stand before God, they'll be able to present their life of hard work, achievements and business acumen as what God will ultimately be pleased with. While He honors and respects hard work, it is nothing that will guarantee a ticket into Heaven.

In fact, there is nothing that will guarantee a home in heaven except for faith.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

And, of course, the faith we are speaking of here is faith in Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

So, here we are with a dilemma; God likes work, but works won't save you from Perdition.

And yet, the Bible tells us that works are good!

"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done" (Matthew 16:27).

So, what will help us to understand the apparent impasse of all these ideas?

Well, it's simply this... we are saved by our faith. We are rewarded for our works. Many people get these two terms mixed up, or consider them to be synonyms. But they are not.

You see... there will be rewards in Heaven for what we have done for the Lord on earth. Once again... our works won't guarantee us a spot in Heaven, but they will give us dividends in eternity.

What things have you trusted in to earn God's love and favor? Are they legitimate, or are they false? Are you able to rest in the fact that Christ paid for your salvation completely, and that you do not need to earn your way to Heaven?

Feel free to leave comments.

The Oldest Profession (Part 1)

I met a young man, probably in his early twenties, at a Farmer's Market recently, who told me he didn't work. He was hanging around the market playing a drum. Someone had told him he was a "drain on society" because he didn't work and he wasn't very happy about their estimation of him.

The conversation didn't last long enough for me to learn why he didn't work. Was it because he was on disability? Was it because he didn't believe in it? Was it because he was independently wealthy? A foray of questions went through my mind about why he didn't work.

The experience caused me to think about work and God's Word.

Many people refer to prostitution as 'the world's oldest profession.' However, that's not true. The world's oldest profession is landscaper. Adam's (the first man's) job was to "...dress the garden" (Genesis 2:15 - KJV).

Until sin entered the human race through Adam, work was a joy. After Adam fell, however, work became toil because the ground was cursed with "thorns and thistles" (Gen. 3:18 - KJV).

I always wondered why God said, "The ground is cursed because of you," (Gen. 3:17 - KJV) to Adam, until I realized that Adam was created from the ground (Gen. 2:7). His name literally means, "red clay."

Thus, the ground was cursed because the man from whom it was made was cursed, due to his sin.

It seems that, to a certain degree, even non-agrarian work tends to have "weeds" in it. In other words, even if a person finds their job to be rewarding, they tend to find aspects of it to be drudgery and difficult.

Nevertheless, it seems from scripture, men are supposed to work as mentioned in this passage from the New Testament -

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody" (I Thessalonians 4:11 - NIV).

II Thessalonians 3:10 goes even further...

"For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: 'If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.'"

And, of course, the Bible gives provision for those who legitimately can't work and need to be cared for.

But, back to my young acquaintance who doesn't work... assuming he's of reasonably sound mind and is physically able, he should work. Plain and simple.

The world is too full of individuals who have fantastic physical and mental limitations, challenges, liabilities and other problems, who earn their way in this world.

Proverbs 26:13 says, "The lazy man says, "There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!" (KJV). Some people get very creative as to why they can't go to work. I'm sure employers have heard even more absurd excuses than this.

So, Christian men... it's incumbent upon you that if you are physically and mentally able to, to work. And not only to work, but to overcome the "weeds" found in your work in order to find value in being productive and not lazy.