Faith & Reflection
Someone once said that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. It was further stated that we should try to be in the first group because there is less competition there.
In 1985, Bob Black (lawyer and anarchist) wrote an essay entitled “The Abolition of Work.” He begins by saying, “No one should ever work. Work is the source of nearly all the misery in the world. Almost any evil you’d care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working.” His closing comment a dozen pages later was, “Workers of the world...relax!”
On the other hand there are workaholics; those who have become driven by and obsessed with work. In extreme cases even the workaholic’s family and friends become incidental to his/her twisted work ethic.
They find it impossible to relax and don’t experience any security except through their labor, occupation and activities, and this security is typically short-lived.
Is there a balance to be found between these two extremes?
Well, the early church was taught that, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
This indicates that, on a practical level, working results in pay which in turn provides food, lodging, etc. However, it may lead to a “Bob Blackian” conclusion that work is just a necessary drudgery.
A friend of mine told me that if you love what you’re doing, you’l l never have to work a day of your life. In other words, if we’re fortunate enough to be able to make our living doing what we enjoy, it won’t feel so much like work.
I think we are getting warmer, but what about the millions who spend their lives working at something or with someone they do not necessarily enjoy or appreciate?
Admittedly, it’s tough to get around the negative promise of Genesis 3:17-19, but there is a key to dealing with this difficult issue of work. It’s found in Colossian 3:17 where we read, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
The application of this verse addresses our motivation and brings our focus around to who we are doing the work for, rather than what work we are doing. C.S. Lewis said of this text, “The work of Beethoven, and the work of a charwoman, become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly “as to the Lord.””
My closing comment? Workers of the world…refocus!
— Pastor Ross Helgeton is senior pastor at Erskine Evangelical Free Church