Work is a Gift from God

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Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 (ESV)

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

Devotion:

            Most people’s knowledge of Ecclesiastes probably begins and ends with the verses we saw in yesterday’s blog post. However, Ecclesiastes is a rich source of wisdom for God’s people to mine. Today’s scripture asks and answers the question: What is the value of work? Everyone has a job to do here on this earth. How does God want his human creatures to relate to the task that God has assigned to them?

            These are questions that everyone is bound to ask from time to time. Sometimes our work seems meaningless. We may be retired and past the point of being able to do what we might call “real” work. What does God expect us to do if we are physically or mentally unable to do the work that we used to do? Let us examine the scripture now to see what answers we can glean from today’s reading.

            In verse 12 above, the writer declares that there is nothing better than for us to be “joyful and do good” all the days of our lives. Our occupations are meant for us to be a source of joy for us. Our joy is to overflow into the world around us. It is truly a blessing for a person to discover the work they do to be so fulfilling that they overflow with joy. Work is also supposed to be a way to “do good” in the world. People are designed by their Creator to want to do good to their neighbor. So, we should find work that allows us to do good for the world.

            Verse 13 is a hope filled verse. The writer of Ecclesiastes urges us to “eat, drink and take pleasure in all our toil”. It is really a beautiful thing to be able to work and take pleasure in working. For many people work is not fulfilling or pleasurable. We must resist the urge to think of work as an evil necessity and receive it as a good gift from God. We all must do some kind of work. We should seek employment where we can be filled with joy and satisfaction.

Prayer:

            Lord, let us rejoice in serving you in whatever occupation you have placed us in. Let us receive the work that we are to do as a gift from you and seek to do it with joy and gladness of heart. Teach us, Lord, how we are to approach each day's tasks so that they are done in service to you and our neighbors. Grant us joy as we work that our days may be spent praising and worshiping you through our work. In Jesus glorious name we ask it. Amen.

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