Labor Day

And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17, NLV).

The Labor Day holiday as we know it grew out of the efforts of labor unions over a century ago. Records indicate the holiday was first proposed in the late 19th century. Two men are credited with the original idea: Peter J. McGuire, a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, and Matthew Maguire, a machinist and secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. The purpose of the holiday was, in McGuire's words, to celebrate those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." His insight leaves much of the truth aside. However, it is a time when we may remember some important truths about our work.

1. First, work itself is inherently good. God didn’t mind “getting His hands dirty,” so to speak, in creating the universe. Genesis says He “worked” to bring it into existence. But that means work must be good in and of itself, since by definition, God can only do what is good. It also means work reflects the activity of God. The engineer who designs a bridge, the zoologist who studies animals, and the farmer who raises crops all carry out jobs that God did at the beginning of the world.
2. Second, your work is important; it matters. The work that God gives you has dignity to it. In fact, God created you “in His image.” Just as He works, so He has created you to work. Genesis even says that God has placed human beings in authority over the creation as His managers. As you use the abilities He’s given you, you can be a partner, a coworker with Him to carry out His work. For example, God can use the nurse to meet the health needs of patients; the grocer to distribute food to customers; the researcher to provide accurate information; the lawyer to promote justice for clients; and the career homemaker to nurture growing children. God values these kinds of jobs because they help to carry out His purposes in the world. These things matter to Him.
3. Third, there’s no such thing as “secular” or “sacred” work. God certainly uses ministers and missionaries to meet spiritual and personal needs around the world. But they are not the only people doing “God’s work.” God is just as interested in the physical, emotional, intellectual, and other needs that people have. He also cares about the management of the earth itself. It takes all kinds of skills, and all kinds of people, to do what God wants done in the world.
4. Fourth, you should do your work in a way that honors God. Your work has dignity; you’re created in God’s image as a worker; you’re a coworker with God; you have God-given abilities to carry out important tasks that He wants done. All of this says that what you do for work and how you do it should bring glory to God. He should be pleased with it—and with you as you do it.

Any task we do as Christians should be done with wholehearted dedication, for God is never satisfied with a halfhearted effort. H. A. Ironside learned this early in life while working for a Christian shoemaker. Young Harry’s job was to prepare the leather for soles. He would cut a piece of cowhide to size, soak it in water, and then pound it with a flat-headed hammer until it was hard and dry. This was a wearisome process, and he wished it could be avoided. Harry would often go to another shoeshop nearby to watch his employer’s competitor. This man did not pound the leather after it came from the water. Instead, he immediately nailed it onto the shoe he was making. One day Harry approached the shoemaker and said, “I noticed you put the soles on while they are still wet. Are they just as good as if they were pounded?” With a wink and a cynical smile the man replied, “No, but they come back much quicker this way, my boy!” Young Harry hurried back to his boss and suggested that perhaps they were wasting their time by drying out the leather so carefully. Upon hearing this, his employer took his Bible, read Colossians 3:23 to him, and said, “Harry, I do not make shoes just for the money. I’m doing it for the glory of God. If at the judgment seat of Christ I should have to view every shoe I’ve ever made, I don’t want to hear the Lord say, ‘Dan, that was a poor job. You didn’t do your best.’ I want to see His smile and hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’” It was a lesson in practical Christian ethics that Ironside never forgot! As you celebrate Labor Day this year, remember that whatever you do, do it unto the Lord.