Created to Work
Text: Genesis 2:4-17
Core Idea: Our work is purposeful because we’re working for the King. Then, in light of this, may all of us live according to Colossians 3:17, which says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
INTRODUCTION
I know that we usually take a break from our sermon series on the day we have our joint service, but because we’ve already taken some time off due to Thanksgiving and the church anniversary, I decided to continue on with the Book of Genesis today. Now, last week, we learned that God rested so that we would know how to rest. This is incredibly countercultural because we live in a world where the success of our work proves our worth – it’s the means of acquiring wealth, power, and respect. So, if you’re successful, you’ll be praised – if you’re not, you’ll be forgotten. No wonder people push themselves to the point of burnout – they refuse to rest. They think that rest will slow them down. They think that they can’t afford to rest now. But our text last week reminded us that we can rest because our worth doesn’t come from our success or accomplishment but from the fact that we were created in the beautiful image of God. In fact, it taught us that we should rest because we’re finite beings. We don’t have the means to give, give, give without feeling absolutely empty inside – we will get drained, exhausted, and burnt out. Knowing this, God graciously modeled for us a rhythm of rest so that there would be a way for us to recover our bodies, refresh our souls, and realign our hearts back to the Lord. Then, my prayer for you is that our time together on this day of rest will bring healing and renewal to your souls. Just as Adam rejoiced over God’s finished work of creation, may today be an opportunity for you to rejoice over God’s finished work of redemption through the person of Jesus Christ. Now, if Genesis 1 gave us the big picture of what God did in those seven days of creation, Genesis 2 will give us a microscopic view of day six when mankind was first created. Then, with that in mind, please turn your Bibles to Genesis 2:4-17. I will invite Chloe to the front so that she can read this for us.
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. 5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Thank you, Chloe, for reading the passage for us – and children, I hope you enjoyed that video. What stood out for me was the reminder that out of all that has been made, you and I are God’s favorites because we were created in His own image. In fact, you can actually see how special we are to God just by looking at the way He crafted us. Think about it. All the other creatures – God created them simply by speaking them into existence. He would say, “Let there be trees, flowers, eagles, owls, octopus, sharks, dogs, cows, lions, elephants, and even flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches” – and they all came to be. But not so with Adam. God scooped the dust from the ground, molded him, held him close to Himself, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life – and Adam became a living being. All that to say, God put a lot of care and love into making each one of us. Do you know what that means? It means that you don’t need to do anything to earn His love – God loves you just the way you are because He made you. One of my favorite verses is found in Psalm 139:14. Can we all read it together? “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” Then, here’s my challenge to you – memorize this verse and remember that you are all fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Do you think you could do that? Good. Thank you for listening.
For the rest of us, let’s take a look at this text from the beginning again. Verse 7 tells us that God formed a man from the dust – then, in verse 8, God planted a garden in the east and placed Adam there. Now, one thing you’ll notice is how wonderful this place is. There was a magnificent river flowing through the garden. There were trees that were pleasing to the eye in that they were beautiful – and there were trees that were good for food in that everything Adam needed to survive was there in the garden. Then it would’ve been completely understandable if we read something like this: “Adam enjoyed everything God had made and rested with Him until something horrible happened” – and continue with the story of how Adam disobeyed, and sin entered the world. But that’s not what we read. Look down to verse 15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Some people today assume that work is a product of the fall – that we’re somehow being forced to work as a form of punishment. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Work is not a result of sin – work was always part of God’s design for His world from the very beginning. From the moment God created Adam and Eve, He gave them work to do. This shouldn’t surprise us, considering that our God is a working God. Listen to what Genesis 2:2-3 says, “By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing; so, on the seventh day, He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” It’s true that God has stopped the work of creation, but He hasn’t stopped working – He’s still carrying out the work of redemption and recreation. And we are now called to work as His image-bearers. All that to say, we work because God created us to work.
Now, no one will deny the fact that work consumes a huge part of our lives. Pastor David Platt said this about work – “If people work forty hours a week for forty years of their lives, that means they will put in more than eighty thousand hours at a job during their lifetime. These hours don’t even include the thousands they spend in school preparing for work, on top of thousands more they spend in cars, planes, and trains traveling to work. Consequently, one of our greatest needs in the church is an understanding of how daily work according to God’s Word ties in with God’s ultimate purpose in the world.” Isn’t this so true? In fact, we don’t just put in a lot of hours doing the work, but we also think a lot about our work as well. We ask questions about the work itself – “What do I need to do next? How do I solve this problem? How do I communicate this need?” But we also ask questions about the meaning of work – “Why am I doing this? How is this work affecting and changing me? Is this worth the effort?” And as Christians, we also think about the ways we could connect the gospel to our work – “How can I live out the gospel here? How can I share the gospel with the people I work with? How does my work fit into God’s plan for my life?” All that to say, work consumes a huge chunk of our lives every day. The problem is that many of us feel this disconnect between our work and faith. Tom Nelson wrote, “Many who are Christians complain of a ‘Sunday-Monday gap’ where their Sunday worship hour bears little to no relevance to the issues they face in their Monday workplace hours.” Do you feel like this today? If so, I pray that this message will be used to bridge that gap and that it’ll help you rediscover the biblical view of work. Friends, the gospel can truly make a difference in the way you work today.
Now, one more thing. Unfortunately, it’ll be hard for me to offer you an extensive understanding of work just from our text. So, even though I usually try my best to stay within the assigned passage, I’m going to be referring to Colossians 3 as a way to supplement our text. So, with that in mind, let me share three things from this text:
· WHO WE WORK FOR
· HOW WE SHOULD WORK
· WHY WE CAN WORK THIS WAY
1) WHO WE WORK FOR
Let’s go back to verse 15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” At this point, Adam knew that nothing in the garden belonged to him – but that everything, including himself, belonged to God. God was the rightful owner of all things – which means that Adam functioned almost like a manager there. Implication? He clearly knew who he worked for. In fact, that’s exactly what Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:23-24, which says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Then let me ask you, “Who are you working for today?” Maybe you’re working for the advancement of your company because you believe in the goodness of what they do. Maybe you’re working for your family because you want to provide for their needs. Maybe you’re working for yourself because there are things that you want to buy, places that you want to go, and the lifestyle that you want to enjoy. In fact, you may be working for your future self in that you’re trying to secure for yourself enough wealth, time, and energy to be able to retire early. But can you truly say that you’re working for the Lord every day? Is your work truly a worship to God – a means to honor and bring Him glory?
It’s true that we often think of worship as something we do on Sunday and work as something we do on Monday. But we must recognize how dangerous this is because it’s causing us to compartmentalize our lives – disconnecting faith from every other aspect of our lives. Then, in order to guard ourselves from this, we must remember that worship is not limited to a day or time – but that worship is life. Worship is not limited to singing songs on Sunday, though that’s definitely a part of it – but this doesn’t define what worship is as a whole. Worship is a means of giving praise and thanksgiving to the Lord – knowing that He alone is worthy of our honor. And we’re called to do this in every aspect of our lives – in the context of changing diapers, studying for an exam, brewing coffee, making a teaching plan, interacting with our business partners, helping a patient, working with computers, and so on. We must remember that work is not just a way to pass the time and make money. No matter what it is that you do, what you do in your job is actually done in service to King Jesus. Do you perceive your job in this way?
Dan Doriani writes, “When I was interviewing people for my book, I noticed how many began to describe their work with two words: ‘I just.’ Educators say, ‘I just teach math,’ and leaders say they ‘just’ clarify problems or assemble teams. Some of us say ‘I just’ because we long to stay humble. Others say ‘I just because we can’t see the value of our work. Still, others say ‘I just’ because we simply work for money or because we lack direction and merely do as we are told. But we should look higher and see that God Himself directs us to work that pleases Him as we serve our neighbors – no matter what kind of job we have.” Brothers and sisters, whatever you’re doing right now, wherever you are, is exactly where God wants you to be. Just as God put Adam in the garden to work for His glory, God has intentionally placed you wherever you are to work for His glory. And there, He desires you to be the salt and light to the people you meet. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can never change your job. But I’m simply trying to prevent you from not giving your best because you believe that you were never called to be there or that it’s just a “transitional” job. No, your job has meaning because you’re placed there for a purpose – your job is valuable because you’re ultimately serving the King. Then, friends, let’s not forget this truth. Your work is not just a means to free you to do the work of God – as if Kingdom work only belongs in the church. No, your work is part of Kingdom work. Your work in itself is worship to God.
2) HOW WE SHOULD WORK
Look at Colossians 3:22-24 again, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Now, let me quickly address one thing before I move forward. It’s not a secret that Paul was addressing the slaves in this passage – and some of you may be thinking, “Why doesn’t Paul just tell them to fight for their freedom instead of instructing them how to work under this oppressive system?” Unfortunately, this has to be a conversation for another day, but what I can share at the moment is that slavery back then looked much different from the slavery we know today which is often incredibly abusive, violent, and dehumanizing. Of course, this is not to say that slavery back then was okay – it wasn’t, which is why the Christians were at the forefront of abolishing slavery. The gospel always moves people to stand against all injustice. So, all that to say, even though Paul was instructing the slaves, the truth itself is still timeless in that there are truths we can apply to the way we work today. Then, with that in mind, let me just point out three things from this text.
First, Paul says that they should obey their earthly masters in everything. Paul doesn’t offer exceptions to this command – he doesn’t say, “Serve only when certain conditions are met.” No, they were to obey everything. Then how can we apply this to our workplace? Well, it means that we should recognize the authority of our managers to be God-given and humbly submit to them. This is not easy to do for many reasons. Your pride could get in the way. Your manager may be incompetent. Your director may be inconsiderate, unfair, and bossy. Your supervisor may be lazy and selfish. As a result, you find yourself frustrated and unmotivated. But despite these challenges, we must obey our earthly masters in everything, for that is what pleases the Lord. We need to learn to treat our boss the way we treat Christ – to be faithful in all that we have been assigned to do and to work hard always. Now, if you’re the manager, this doesn’t mean that you’re off the hook. Colossians 4:1 says, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.” If you’re in a position where people are working for you, the Bible clearly commands you to be just and fair because you have a Master in heaven to whom you will give an account. Then let me ask you, “Will your employees see Christ in you through the way you treat them?”
Second, Paul says that they shouldn’t be people pleasers. What does that mean in our workplace? It could mean that you work in a way that makes you look good, but you don’t necessarily work hard. Or it could also mean that you work only to be noticed by others. Let me give you some examples. You can spend all day watching YouTube, but as soon as your manager walks into the office, you pretend that you’ve been working hard. It’s true. Your manager may be fooled for a while, but God isn’t. Another example is that you find yourself working long hours and driving yourself to the point of burnout only to make people happy. Well, Paul tells us that this does not please the Lord – instead, this is how we should work.
Third, Paul says that they should work with sincerity of the heart and reverence for the Lord. The word “sincerity” in Greek literally means purity and honesty. In other words, Paul was basically saying, “Serve from your heart, soul, and body with complete devotion to the Lord. Work with reverence, fear, or awe of God.” Pastor Paul Tripp said, “The central most powerful thing that shapes and forms our thoughts, actions, words, decisions, and desires is and must be our awe of God.” What drives us to work cannot be our own ambition and pride. It cannot be a desire for comfort and safety. The reason for all that we do must be in light of being in awe of God.
This is so important for two reasons. First, when we forget that we work for the King, our work can become the source of our ultimate satisfaction and meaning for us – causing us to idolize work. Now, it’s not idolatrous to work hard or enjoy what we do. It’s not wrong to desire to make an impact through our work. But the trouble starts when our pursuit of influence or enjoyment in our work becomes the ultimate thing that we’re striving for. Our work becomes not just the primary consumer of our time, energy, and passions but also the primary means for measuring our happiness or dissatisfaction in life. If this is true in our lives, though we may not want to admit it, we may be worshiping our jobs since we’ve come to desire our work more than Jesus. Brothers and sisters, does this describe you today? Has your work become an idol that’s keeping you away from faithfully following Jesus? Do you find yourself compromising your faith in order to accommodate the needs of your work – justifying by saying, “God will understand”? On the other hand, you would never compromise work for your faith. Friends, remember that deep and lasting satisfaction of our hearts can only be found in the One who created us. Saint Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. Then may Christ be the central object of your heart’s devotion.
Second, when we forget that we are working for the King, we can also easily undervalue our work – causing us to become idle at work. Now, this isn’t just about those who sit around and do nothing at all or those who only do the minimum work required not to get fired, though both are certainly part of it. Greg Gilbert writes, “Being idle is an inactivity of the heart – an inability or unwillingness to see or embrace God’s purposes in the work He’s given you to do. It’s a heart that does not grasp how God is using your work to shape you, a heart that denies your Christian responsibility to serve as if you were serving the Lord.” Because we forget that God had placed us there, our work feels meaningless, burdensome, and trivial. No wonder so many people dread Mondays and live for Fridays. They really don’t care much about their job – they only care about the things their job allows them to do. Friends, does this describe you today? If so, you may have forgotten the fact that God has a purpose for us in our workplace. Our jobs are more than just a means to an end – they are an act of worship to God.
Now, one thing I want to emphasize is that we as adults (especially parents) need to model this to our children and youth. We need to show them the value of work and what our work means to God. We need to teach them how to work, how to love work, and how to take pride in their work – not being arrogant but being confident enough to use the skills and wisdom God has given them to accomplish great things for Him. We need to correct them when they cheat their way through, guard them so that they don’t become entitled, and inspire them so that they’re not just waiting for things to be given but are motivated to run after things that God had called them to achieve. All that to say, we need to exemplify for them to work hard. If we idolize work, they, too, will idolize work. If we become idle at work, they, too, will undervalue work – which means that it’s absolutely imperative for us to perceive work as worship. How can we impart what we do not possess?
3) WHY WE CAN WORK THIS WAY
Now, everything I said so far isn’t earth-shatteringly new. We know that we ought to work this way. But we can’t help but ask, “How can anyone truly work this way?” You might be thinking, “Woohyun, you have no idea what I go through every single day at work. People swear. They gossip. They backstab. Their values and interests are so different from mine. It’s easy for you to say all this because you don’t have to deal with these things.” And that is absolutely true. I really don’t know the challenges that you face on a daily basis. I can only imagine how difficult it is for you to live out the gospel in your workplace – which is why I’m so thankful for all of you. Thank you for fighting the good fight of faith. I am praying for you. But, at the same time, I want you to know that this is not my opinion – this is what God requires of you. No one said it was going to be easy. As we navigate through this, there will be a lot of questions, and we must wrestle hard in prayer. But we should persevere in this, knowing that it brings great joy to our Father’s heart.
Now, the wonderful news is that God hasn’t left us to do this on our own. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.” This is incredible because it means that we can work faithfully and with excellence even if no one compensates for our labor and even if no one notices because we’ve been made children of God – there’s an inheritance that awaits us. Not long after God placed Adam in the garden, Adam, who represented all of us, fell and became an enemy of God – putting him and all his descendants under the wrath of God. Work was no longer joyful and fulfilling – and the work that was meant to free us to worship God now became a burden that was crushing us. But God did not leave us in this state. Because of His love for us, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, so that He can live the life we failed to live and die the death we deserved to die in order to stand as our substitute and take on Himself the debt we owed God. Because of Christ, we’re not only forgiven but we’re also made children of God so that we can receive an inheritance that is more valuable than anything in this world. What is our inheritance? Christ is our inheritance – He is our reward. Even if we lose our job, Christ is our inheritance. Even if no one notices our work, God does – and He will reward us with Christ as our inheritance. Brothers and sisters, we must remember this because it will guard our hearts and radically transform the way we work today. We won’t idolize work, for our joy is found in Christ – and we won’t be idle at work, for our joy is to glorify Him through our work. We won’t work for our identity, but we will work out of our identity.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, our work is purposeful because we’re working for the King. Then, in light of this, may all of us live according to Colossians 3:17, which says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) The passage teaches that work is not a punishment but a part of God’s original design. How does this change your view on the work you do daily? How can this guard us from compartmentalizing our work from faith?
2) The text emphasizes working for the Lord, and not just to please others. Why do you think this shift in perspective is important?
3) When we forget that we work for the King, we can either idolize work or become idle at work. In what ways do we sometimes place work above our relationship with God? In what ways do we value what our work can enable us to do more than the work itself?
4) Why is it important to model a healthy view of work for the next generation? How can we, as believers, demonstrate the purpose and value of work in a way that honors God while also recognizing the need for rest?