#2418 (9/3) "Happy Labor Day - Work as a Reflection of the Creator"

"HAPPY LABOR DAY - WORK AS A REFLECTION OF THE CREATOR" - by Chuck Colson, Breakpoint.org, Sept 3, 2018; http://www.breakpoint.org/2018/09/breakpoint-happy-labor-day/ [AS I SEE IT: Because of health reasons, I stopped  doing any work when I left full-time ministry over 10 years ago. Yes, I did have a lot of time to read a LOT of books -something I still enjoy doing. However, when circumstances required me almost 2 years ago to seek employment, I honestly didn't know what to expect. Since I've been working at a secular job almost 2 years now, I actually enjoy the chance to just work hard and do a job well. I also have come to look forward to the opportunity to be among non-Christians (after spending many the first 33 of my adult years mainly working with Christians) as each work shift is an opportunity to BE Jesus and to possibly SHARE Jesus with someone - whether customer or fellow employee. By the look on the faces of some people I know, I wonder if they somehow feel sorry for me for not being able to "retire." (By the way, isn't it instructive that I don't see that word mentioned anywhere in the Bible? Hmm...) Oh, sure, I look forward to having days off to just catch my breath, do things around the house I need to do, and I would esp. love to have more time to read. But I really don't look at my age - when most would be retired - as a time to not work. In fact, I am quite content to keep "working" in some way until the day Jesus calls me HOME. So, rather than say,"WHY do I have to work, God? I actually can say "THANK YOU, God" for allowing me to work. Honest! [Health? While I still have days when I would prefer to stay at home and rest, those days are infrequent now and I see God enable me to work even when I don't feel well.] - Stan]

     Happy Labor Day! [Whether or not you have this ] day off from work, let’s hear what Chuck Colson had to say about the dignity of work.

Eric Metaxas: Do we work to live, or live to work? I’d imagine that most of us would say we work to live: to pay the bills and support ourselves and our families. Many of us would admit that we work for the weekend—so we can do the things we really like to do, like take vacations, enjoy our hobbies and spend time with friends and family.

But I can almost hear Chuck Colson saying, “Hold on a minute, work is a gift from God.”
     For Chuck Colson work was as much a part of life as breathing. From the Marine Corps to his law practice, from Capitol Hill to the Nixon White House, and especially ministering in the prisons and teaching Christian worldview, Chuck was a tireless, passionate worker for God and the causes he believed in so deeply.
     In fact, although he was a few decades older than most of us on his staff, there were times we simply couldn’t keep up. This was a man, after all, who would show up at the office after the weekend and say, “Thank God it’s Monday!” And long after many men his age had retired, Chuck vowed he would work til the day he died. And for all intents and purposes, that’s exactly what he did.

So this Labor Day, I thought it would be good to hear from Chuck on his view of work itself. Here he is now, from a BreakPoint commentary called “Working Class Heroes,” which aired back in 2002.

 Chuck: I for one am happy to join the celebration of working-class heroes, especially today. Christians have a special reason to celebrate Labor Day, which honors the fundamental dignity of workers, for we worship a God Who labored to make the world, and Who created human beings in His image to be workers. When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them work to do: cultivating and caring for the earth.

     In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans looked upon manual work as a curse, something for lower classes and slaves. But Christianity changed all that. Christians viewed work as a high calling, a calling to be co-workers with God in unfolding the rich potential of His creation.

This high view of work can be traced throughout the history of the Church. In the Middle Ages, the guild movement grew out of the Church. It set standards for good workmanship and encouraged members to take satisfaction in the results of their labor. The guilds became the forerunner of the modern labor movement.

Later, during the Reformation, Martin Luther preached that all work should be done to the glory of God. Whether ministering the gospel or scrubbing floors, any honest work is pleasing to the Lord. And out of this conviction grew the Protestant work ethic.

Christians were also active on behalf of workers in the early days of the industrial revolution, when factories were “dark satanic mills,” to borrow a phrase from Sir William Blake. Work in factories and coal mines in those days was hard and dangerous. Children were practically slaves, sometimes even chained to the machines.
     Then John Wesley came preaching and teaching the gospel throughout England. He came not to the upper classes, but to the laboring classes—to men whose faces were black with coal dust and women whose dresses were patched and faded. John Wesley preached to them, and in the process, he pricked the conscience of the whole nation.
     Two of Wesley’s disciples, William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury, were inspired to work for legislation that would clean up abuses in the workplace. At their urging, the British parliament passed child-labor laws, safety laws, and minimum-wage laws.

     Here in America we’ve lost the Christian connection with the labor movement. But in many countries that tradition still remains. But this Labor Day, remember that all labor derives its true dignity as a reflection of the Creator. And that whatever we do, in word or deed, we should do all to the glory of God.

Eric: For more on all kinds of things having to do with faith and culture, please come to BreakPoint.org. (This commentary originally aired September 4, 2017.)

 [italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCES - Enjoy your labor since, as Chuck has reminded us, work is a gift from God. Honest work and good workmanship bring dignity to our lives, glory to God, and reflect our Creator.
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling God's Purpose For Your Life - Os Guinness | Thomas Nelson Publishing | 2018; https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/finding-fulfilling-gods-purpose-your-life/os-guinness/9780785220077/pd/22007X?event=ESRCG
God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life- Gene Edward Veith | Crossway Books | August 2011;https://www.amazon.com/God-Work-Redesign-Christian-Vocation/dp/1433524473
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"The Gift of Labor" - By Henry M. Morris, PH.D.|Sept. 03, 2018; http://www.icr.org/article/10792

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

Praying for Iran At #10 on the 2018 World Watch List and with a Church of 800,000 strong (out of 80.9 million), the main threat for believers in Iran comes from the government. The regime sees Christians, especially converts from Islam, as a threat and frequently imprisons believers for reaching out to Muslims— “crimes against the national security.” Throughout September, we’ll be focusing on our persecuted family in Iran. Please join us in praying with these secret believers.
September 3 | IRAN - When one member of a family in Iran leaves Islam, it brings disgrace on the family. The cultural consequences often drive families to curse and disown those who convert. Pray with Christians who have “lost” their family.