ELUL 15
Labor
“…but rather let him labour, working with
his hands what is good …” (Eph 4:28)
We have managed - I am estimating – in the last 25 years, to raise up a
generation that believe they are ENTITLED
to anything and everything, without having to work for it. They believe and demand that they have a
right to food, shelter, clothing, and even modern amenities such as cell
phones, expensive cars, even jewelry, and we, the taxpayers, are to provide
this for them. Honest work ethics are a
thing of the past, and rare it is when an employer is able to find that one employee that is not only
willing to work, but do so without murmuring, complaining, and arguing with
every work-related directive.
‘Work’ began with Elohim, with His ‘work of creating’ (see Gen
2:2-3). We are further told that man was
placed within the Garden of Eden to ‘work’ it, and to guard it (Gen 2:15). Within the wording of the Ten Words (Ten
Commandments), we find instructions concerning the Sabbath, in that we have six
days to do all of our ‘work’, but the seventh day was to be set-apart, with no
‘work’ being done (Ex 20:9-10). As
children of the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we have certain feast days
where again, we are instructed to do ‘no work’ (see Num 28 and 29). The Apostle Paul gave us plain instructions
that could be equated to Elohim’s
welfare system: “If anyone does not wish to work, neither let him eat” (2The
3:10), which is basically telling us that there are no handouts for those who
are lazy. Paul himself worked with his
hands – the speculation is that he was a tentmaker – and we also know that our
Messiah was a carpenter. With these examples
before us, we can surmise that work is not an
option; it is expected.
I perceive that it is a form of pride that influences people to believe
that they don’t have to work for what they receive. To ‘entitle’ someone is to give that person a
right, or a claim, to something. And
that in itself is not a bad thing; we are all entitled to be treated with basic
decency and respect. However, to just
hand over the ‘right’ to CONTINUOUS,
never-ending benefits without the individual having to put forth any effort to
receive said benefits, is a recipe for disaster, as is evident by the amount
our government spends annually on welfare programs. Am I against said programs? No, I am not; many years ago I and my
children were in such a place that we were the recipients of these
benefits. Nonetheless, it was not a
place where we camped permanently.
As we sit in the middle of this month of Elul, can we look – honestly
and openly – at the how we give our
labor to our employers? Are we thankful
that we even have a job? Are we the best
employee that the company has? Are we
performing all our duties to the best of our ability? Are we going above and beyond what is
expected of us? And when we look at
management, are we seeing our Messiah Yeshua as the One who ultimately signs our paychecks?
“And whatever
you do, do it heartily, AS TO THE MASTER and not to men, knowing that from the
Master you shall receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Master,
Messiah, you serve.” (Gal 3:23-24, emphasis mine)
“But we call
upon you, brothers, that you do so more and more, and to make it your ambition
to live peaceably, and to attend to your own, and TO WORK WITH YOUR OWN HANDS,
as we commanded you, so that you behave decently toward those who are outside,
and not be in any need.” (1The 4:10-12, emphasis mine)
©2021
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