It seems like there's a big misconception around the topic of WORK, a lot of folks here follow the Pharisees by having equated work with keeping the Mosaic Law, but nothing could be further from the truth. What exactly is WORK? Let the bible interpret itself. The answer is the fourth commandment:
Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger 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 the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Ex. 20:8-11)
When it comes to this commandment, usually the focus is all on the Sabbath and any controversy thereof, while WORK is often neglected. Sabbath is the day of the Lord that ought to be kept holy, but before the sabbath, we work six days. This is a basic pattern of life that was set at the beginning for us to follow. God gave this commandment to the Israelites in the wilderness through Moses on Mount Sinai. Now notice that BEFORE the ten commandments were given, Israelites were already being trained to get accustomed with this pattern of life - by gathering manna from heaven in Exodus 16. I'm not gonna throw the entire chapter here, just a few key verses:
And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”(Ex. 16:3-5)
In summary, "will work for food" is the name of the game. Israelites went out every day to gather this bread from heaven, and it was only sufficient for the day. Some tried to gather more and save the extra for the next day, and surprise, surprise, the extra all went spoiled overnight. (16:20) However, on the sixth day, they were ordered to gather twice as much to prepare for the Sabbath day, because there won't be any manna on Sabbath. (16:26) This time, none of it was spoiled (16:24). Some of them didn't listen, they went out on Sabbath, and they found nothing. (16:27) This had become their rhythm, and they did it for 40 long years in the wilderness. In the Lord's prayer, "daily bread" is a subtle reference of this, and everybody in the audience understood it.
So, here are a few bullet points:
- "Work" is what we do to make a living, to put food on the table, roof over the head and clothes on the back. It is NOT associated with salvation, for Jesus is the true bread of life, there's nothing we can do to impress God and earn salvation. The purpose of work is to sustain THIS LIFE, not the next life. "He who does not work, neither shall he eat." (2 Thess. 3:10)
- The fourth commandment sets up a weekly schedule. In order to have the Sabbath day set apart from the work days and dedicated to the Lord, all the secular work must be done in six days. If there's anything left undone, chances are, that piece of work will weigh on my mind, I'll be concerned about it, and I'll be distracted while I'm supposed to be worshipping God. Therefore there's a preparation day before Sabbath to wrap up all the work of the week. That puts more pressure on work instead of diminishing the importance of it.
- Notice that although God as the ultimate Provider fed the Israelites with manna, it did not appear in their tents on their table. This is a key principle - "Seek, and you shall find". The manna is out there, but I have to go out and gather it. The purpose was clearly stated, that it's a test of obedience.
- Although "Work" is referring to our secular work, it is NOT limited to our paid job in the office. Any productive activity is work honored by God. "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Colossians 3:17) There is no "secular-sacred" divide. God never put ministerial or religious work over other secular works. On the contrary, Pharisees and scribes were harshly criticized by Jesus for virtue signaling through their ministerial and religious work, while all the heavy burdens were put on the shoulders of other people, while they didn't lift a finger. (Matt. 23:3-5)
- Actually, by God's standard, unpaid work that I do voluntarily, either at home or in the community, at the cost of my own time and resources, seeking nothing in return, is more honorable than my regular job, for my job is just what I'm paid to do, unpaid work without anybody asking me to do is what really reflects my character. You can see this in Matt. 5:46-48 - "If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."
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