On a day when the government announced troubling increases in the numbers of unemployed, statistics about joblessness and the recession were brought more sharply into view for me.
My daughter called from Florida to say that the Curves at which she works on a part-time basis and where she works out, is closing down. (She has a full-time job. So, no worries there, although her hours have been cut back.) The owner of the franchise, a woman who holds two other jobs, simply can't afford to keep the place up and running.
I learned today that a Christian publishing house is closing down all of its retail outlets. There is a general trend away from the overhead associated with physical stores, toward online sales. So, this decision may have been in the pipeline anyway. But it was probably also hastened by the economy. The decision comes as an enormous blow to an acquaintance of mine with more than thirty years with the company.
Over the course of the week, I've spoken with several people who have lost their jobs because of the shrinking economy.
It isn't just the loss of income that's so horrible when one loses a job, although that's worrisome enough. It's also the loss of self-worth.
There's a downside to tying up one's sense of worthiness to a job, of course. As I said here, we're human beings, not human doings.* In God's eyes, we're accounted worthy not because of what we do or own, but simply because we are children of God.
On the other hand, we weren't made for idleness, contrary to the bad rap that work sometimes gets. Some Christians even have the mistaken impression that work is a punishment for sin. Not so. Even before the fall into sin recorded in Genesis, God gave the first man work to do. Work isn't a punishment. It's part of our purpose for living. When it's taken away from us, it chips away at our dignity.
Tonight, I'm praying for all who are without work.
I'm praying too, that the economy not only of the United States, but that of the world, will improve, bringing new opportunities for people.
I'm also praying that once things do improve, we won't forget our vulnerability or our need for God in good times and bad. (See here.)
*The phrase isn't original with me. But I don't remember where I first read it.
Showing posts with label Christians and Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christians and Work. Show all posts
Friday, November 07, 2008
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Hope for Workaholics (Christians and Work, Part 3)
[This message was shared during worship with Friendship Lutheran Church of Amelia, Ohio on August 19, 2007. If you live in or are visiting the Cincinnati area, feel free to worship with us. We have Sunday worship at 10:00AM. Starting September 8, we'll resume our Saturday worship schedule. The Saturday service, which won't happen on September 29, incorporates the opportunity to informally discuss the Biblical texts and the life issues they address.]Luke 10:28-32
The story’s told of a couple who had decided if they had children, that only one of the parents would continue to work outside the home. The other would stay at home with the kids. In this particular family, the man kept his 9 to 5 (or 9 to 6, 9 to 7, 9 to 8) gig and the woman took primary responsibility for child-rearing and household management.
One day, the guy comes home to find total mayhem. “The kids were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud and muck. There were empty food boxes and wrappers all around. As he proceeded into the house, he found an even bigger mess — dishes on the counter, dog food spilled on the floor, a broken glass under the table, and a small pile of sand by the back door. The family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing, and a lamp had been knocked over.
"He headed up the stairs, stepping over toys, to look for his wife. He was becoming worried that she may be ill, or that something had happened to her. He found her in the bedroom, still in bed with her pajamas on, reading a book. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went."
He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?” She again smiled and answered, “You know every day when you come home from work and ask me what I did today?” “Yes.” She answered, “Well, today I didn’t do it!”
I tell that story for a reason. You see, when some of you heard the incident involving Jesus and two of His friends, the sisters Mary and Martha, being read to you from the Bible, a little voice inside your head said, “Oh, boy, here Daniels goes again. He’s going to talk about how great it was for Mary to sit on her blessed assurance and how faithless it was for Martha to scurry around working like a madwoman while Jesus was teaching at their house.” But that’s not what I’m going to say.
At least, that’s not all I’m going to say.
I am going to say that sometimes we all feel like that stay-at-home mom did. Or like Martha did when Jesus came to visit her brother Lazarus, her sister Mary and her. Both felt that their hard work was unappreciated or underappreciated.
And there may have been times when Martha’s beef with Mary was completely warranted. When you look at another place in the New Testament where Martha and Mary figure, John, chapter 11, and you see that Martha is a person of action. Mary is more of a contemplative. Sometimes action is needed more than contemplation or rest. But not on the day our Bible lesson recounts.
If you’ve derived any kernel of Biblical truth from the first two installments of this series on Christians and Work, I hope that it would be that work is a good thing. God made us to do work. It’s part of what makes us human. It’s a way that we can worship and honor God.
Think of work as being like a fine piece of furniture, say that dining room set you scrimped and saved to buy. Now, when the delivery people arrive with it, you wouldn’t take them out the back door to the deck, where it could be exposed to the sun and the rain and all the elements, and say, “Just set it here.” That would be a complete misuse, an abuse, of a finely crafted piece meant to last for generations.
Work has its place. The work of hospitality that Martha thought she was doing, has its place. But there comes a point when work is misused and abused.
Martha had the opportunity to hear Jesus’ liberating word for repentant sinners, the Good News that we are freed from sin not by our efforts or good deeds, but solely by our trusting surrender to the Savior Who dies and rises for us.
But Martha was too busy acting important, being the linchpin who held civilization together, to pay attention to Jesus. Martha, at least in this instance, was being a workaholic. She exemplifies the lifestyle of workaholism, which always stems from a combination of personal insecurity, or a desire to be noticed, or the fear of insignificance, or idol worship, whether the idol is self, money, or power. Workaholism is never from God. And its effects can be devastating.
Some of you have heard me tell the true story of a business executive who had achieved great financial success. There was just one problem: He never saw his wife and kids. He never made his children’s school events. He only took “working vacations.” Finally, unable to take the life they were leading, his wife issued an ultimatum, “Get your workaholic lifestyle under control or I’m leaving and taking the kids with me. A divorce will only confirm the reality of our situation because right now, we're not really married. We just share a house....sometimes.”
At first, the exec was dumbfounded. He thought his wife was being ungrateful. Here he had provided every material thing anyone could want and she was talking about divorce!
But his wife stood firm. The next morning, he astounded his family by calling his office, clearing his calendar and telling them that he was taking the day off. He took the kids to school and spent the day talking with his wife.
At the end of the day, he came to an astounding decision. He would leave his job and use their savings to buy a little marina in northern Michigan. “We’ll work and play together,” he declared. “There’ll be no pressures or deadlines.”
Wife and kids were happy and within weeks, they’d made their move. But it didn’t take long for the old workaholic ways to re-emerge. The guy expanded the marina, added a restaurant, and built time share condos. He was at it from dawn to beyond dusk. One night, he returned home to an empty house. There was a brief note from his wife. This time, she would divorce him.
A few months later, an old acquaintance visited the guy at his empire by the lake. The exec took him for a spin in his boat. The acquaintance looked at all the exec's holdings that set on the shore and said, “When you look at all that, you must feel very proud.” “Frankly,” the executive said, “when I look at it, it makes me sick to my stomach.” Within days, he died of a massive heart attack. He was in his mid-forties.
Once workaholism has a person in its grips, it becomes a monster that needs constant feeding. It kills people’s relationships with God and others. It eventually kills the person never freed from it. It kills them spiritually and then it kills them physically.
So, can we be free of workaholism, free of work as an addiction?
I think that if we go back to that incident in Bethany again, we can find Jesus’ prescription for workaholism.
Remember what happened? Martha is busily serving. The workaholic executive who worked too many hours and did way more than was necessary for doing an excellent job, was resentful of his wife’s criticism. Martha is just like him. Doing way more than excellent hospitality demands, she resents her sister’s decision to sit and listen to the Lord. Seeing herself as a martyr and a model of good citizenship, Martha runs to Jesus and, in effect, upbraids Him for His insenstivity.
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”
Jesus responds, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Workaholism is all about choices. Hard work and a commitment to excellence are good choices. But work to prove our self-worth or to call attention to ourselves are very bad choices. Martha was making a bad choice. Mary was choosing the Savior Jesus, a gift that could never be taken from her!
The child of God, the person who has turned from sin and believes in Jesus Christ, will want to work hard at the right times for the right reasons.
And this same child of God knows that she or he has nothing to prove to God or to the world. God has already given His approval to their lives.
They know that it’s okay to relax, that it’s even okay to sometimes says, “No” when the church asks them to take on a job.
Children of God relish the realities...
- that they are of central importance to God;
- that God created this world for them to enjoy; and
- that to prevent them from experiencing eternal separation from God, the rightful punishment for our sin, God became human, died for us, and rose to give us eternity with God. You are worthy. God says so. The shed blood of Jesus on the cross says so!
God’s antidote to the combination of self-hatred, self-worship, the need to be in control, and personal insecurity that expresses itself in workaholism, is embodied by Jesus.
Jesus brings us what the Bible calls grace, God’s charitable acceptance of repentant sinners offered to us through Christ.
The New Testament tells us, “by the free gift of Jesus Christ...” we are set free. With nothing left to prove, the follower of Christ is set free to move toward being who God made us to be. We're liberated by the realization that we aren't human doings, but human beings.
And there’s another freedom that God gives to us.
I read once about a fellow who had a strange habit. On Monday mornings, as a good friend was just sitting down at his desk for a new work week, he made a phone call. When his friend answered, the guy dispensed with small talk. All he said was, “This is God. You have the freedom to fail. I’ll still love you if you do.” Then he hung up.
When we belong to Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to fail. We have the freedom to do our best, fall flat on our faces, and know that we still have value. And know that if God gives us tomorrow, we can try again. We have the freedom to fail because God never fails to love us, stand by us, or bring the people and support we need to keep on keepin’ on whatever life brings.
God never fails to love you. Today, I challenge you to believe that, to latch onto Jesus Christ, and know, success or failure, God will never let go of you.
[The story about the messy house and yard are from HomileticsOnline.com. The true story of the Michigan business executive is one I heard Bill Hybels tell more than twenty years ago.]
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Happy with Work (Christians and Work, Part 2)
[This message was shared during the worship celebration of Friendship Lutheran Church, Amelia, Ohio, on August 12, 2007. If you live in or are visiting the Cincinnati area, feel free to worship with us on an upcoming Sunday morning. Worship celebrations start at 10:00AM.]
Psalm 139:13-18
Titus 3:9-11
Recently, a man spoke enthusiastically with me about his work. “You love your job, don’t you?” I asked him. “I do,” he said. “And I’m good at it.” He blushed after he said that and began to stammer an embarrassed explanation.
I stopped him. I knew that he wasn't an egomaniac. Nor was he a workaholic, someone who derived all his identity and self-worth from the job. He’s healthy and balanced. And, like most people who do their jobs well, he’s someone who's happy with his work.
The Old Testament tells us that finding enjoyment in our work is a blessing from God. It’s a blessing I think that God wants all of us to enjoy, though the realities of this fallen world often get in the way of that happening in our daily paying gigs.
And sometimes, our jobs pay the bills, making it possible for us to pursue our most important work elsewhere. I think of a woman Ann and I know. She has an advanced professional degree. She’s competent in her field. But after her children were raised, she decided to take a part-time entry level job. It allows her to continue to contribute to the household income. More importantly though, it gives her the freedom to do what she feels is really her life’s work: serving as the volunteer minister to the elderly at her church.
That woman, every bit as much as the man who told me that he was good at his job is happy with her work.
What does it take for us to be happy with our work, whether it entails working sixty or more hours a week at a high-level position or forty to fifty at a minimum wage position?
There are no doubt many reasons. But I want to suggest four basic elements derived from the Bible that go into being happy with work. I’ll speak of three today.
The first element, I think, is obvious. People who enjoy their work usually have jobs composed of using their God-given talents.
In Psalm 139, David tells God, “it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance...” God has made all of us according to specific blueprints and it's true what I've often told my Catechism students through the years, "God doesn't make junk!"
When we perform work that uses the unique design God imprints on us, it’s likely to make us happy!
And because our whole lives are meant to offer praise to God, finding and performing work that matches our personalities and passions is also one way we can offer our lives in worship to the God we know in Jesus Christ.
During our recent vacation to Virginia, in addition to visiting with family, we saw several important historical sites, among them Appomatox Court House, where Grant surrendered to Lee and the moving National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
There were several helpful, informative staff and volunteers at Appomatox Court House. But we were a little disappointed by the less than informative people stationed in the home of Wilmer McLean, the actual site where Grant and Lee met in 1865.
What a contrast they were to the enthusiastic sixty-something man who took us around the D-Day Memorial! With detail and passion, he spoke of the significance of each part of the place, as well as of the plans for a theater there using money donated by Steven Spielberg.
The difference between those in the McLean home and the man at the D-Day Memorial? The first two people were just doing jobs. The man at the D-Day Memorial was doing something for which he was made! His passion shone through!
Not all of us have the luxury of finding work that matches our innermost beings. That’s a sad fact in our sinful, fallen world.
We Christians also need to be among the first to speak out against discrimination in society, against anything that prevents people from using their God-given gifts and abilities!
But, I also believe that since God takes such great care in designing each one of us, it’s very important that we pay attention to what our talents and passions are. They may lead us to our life’s work.
In the neighborhood in which I grew up was a little boy who often gathered all the spare chairs, stuffed animals, and little sisters he could round up at home and then play “church,” complete with a sermon. That should have taught me what my life’s work was to be, but it took years for me to find out that my God-given passion was also my vocation.
Element number one in job happiness is working at what you’re made for. But there’s a second element that helps us to be happy with our work.
A survey was once done among the supervisors of engineers. Engineering would be a total mystery to me. It involves numbers and intractable mathematics. It's quantifiable. You would think that being a successful engineer would only about getting the numbers right. But when these supervisors were asked to identify the reasons they'd dismissed engineers from their jobs in the preceding five years, something like 80% of the fired engineers weren't fired because they were incompetent. They were fired for an inability to work with others.
That doesn’t mean that engineers are a bad lot. It means that no matter what our fields, we have to work with people.
Good relationships with those with whom we work is another thing that makes us happy with our work.
Of course, everybody has some run-ins with the people with whom they work. The Bible seems to teach that conflict with others, even those we love--especially those we love--is an inevitable part of life. In the New Testament book of Ephesians, we're told, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger...” The Bible is telling us, “Be honest about your emotions. Work out your differences with others.”
In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus discusses how Christians are to resolve difference. We’ve incorporated this process into the constitution of Friendship Church. But you can apply Jesus’ principles for conflict resolution to your families and to your places of work, too.
The process is simple:
Putting Jesus’ method for conflict resolution into effect isn’t always easy, though. It can be uncomfortable.
In my former parish, I made a stupid mistake--allowing a burn barrel fire to spill out of the barrel and onto the neighboring softball field. I was able to quickly put out the fire. But the softball field was black and I felt awful about it. I got word though that one of my church members was telling people that I had blamed the children of the congregation for the fire. I was upset. Especially because I’d had such good rapport with this man before. I was angry. So, I picked up my phone and called the man and asked him if he’d said this about the incident. “Yes.” “Why?” I asked him. “You know me better than that. You know I wouldn’t blame someone else for something I did.” “I know, Pastor,” he said. “Sometimes I’m a gossip. I’m sorry.” From that day forward, that man and I were good friends. The New Testament tells us, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Of course, not all of our efforts to be on good terms with those with whom we work will be successful. Not everybody wants to live peaceably. In our second lesson for today, Paul writes to a young pastor Titus that if some folks are consistent troublemakers in the church, he needs to quit hanging out with them.
We may reach an analogous place in our work lives. Co-workers or supervisors may make our work lives unbearable. We may have to ask to be switched to a different department. We may have to quit our jobs and find other employment. I believe that if we’ve made efforts at reconciliation and accommodation, God will help us find new places of work where we can be happy.
Work at what you’re good at. Seek to maintain positive personal relationships on the job. There’s another element that the Bible mentions that relates to job happiness.
My best man’s father was forced to quit high school and enter the work force at age seventeen when his own father died under tragic circumstances. This could have led Stan to spend his work life as one of those resentful workers who wait for five o’clock each day so that they can wait for age sixty five so that they can spend retirement waiting for Golden Corral to open.
But that isn’t what happened. Instead, he rose to an important position in one of Columbus’ largest banks. He was always enthusiastic and in fact, loved his job and his co-workers so much, that he stayed beyond the usual retirement age. He’s seventy-eight years old now and recently had a cancer scare. But he can still bench press 250-pounds! The last time I saw him, he grabbed my friend by the scruff of the neck and said, “I love my boy!” Then, he grabbed me and added, “I love both my boys!”
The third element for job happiness is having the right attitude, a commitment to doing your best every day, and then doing it.
I love the wisdom from God that King Solomon put down in the Old Testament, “Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.”
Want to be happy with your work?
Psalm 139:13-18
Titus 3:9-11
Recently, a man spoke enthusiastically with me about his work. “You love your job, don’t you?” I asked him. “I do,” he said. “And I’m good at it.” He blushed after he said that and began to stammer an embarrassed explanation.
I stopped him. I knew that he wasn't an egomaniac. Nor was he a workaholic, someone who derived all his identity and self-worth from the job. He’s healthy and balanced. And, like most people who do their jobs well, he’s someone who's happy with his work.
The Old Testament tells us that finding enjoyment in our work is a blessing from God. It’s a blessing I think that God wants all of us to enjoy, though the realities of this fallen world often get in the way of that happening in our daily paying gigs.
And sometimes, our jobs pay the bills, making it possible for us to pursue our most important work elsewhere. I think of a woman Ann and I know. She has an advanced professional degree. She’s competent in her field. But after her children were raised, she decided to take a part-time entry level job. It allows her to continue to contribute to the household income. More importantly though, it gives her the freedom to do what she feels is really her life’s work: serving as the volunteer minister to the elderly at her church.
That woman, every bit as much as the man who told me that he was good at his job is happy with her work.
What does it take for us to be happy with our work, whether it entails working sixty or more hours a week at a high-level position or forty to fifty at a minimum wage position?
There are no doubt many reasons. But I want to suggest four basic elements derived from the Bible that go into being happy with work. I’ll speak of three today.
The first element, I think, is obvious. People who enjoy their work usually have jobs composed of using their God-given talents.
In Psalm 139, David tells God, “it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance...” God has made all of us according to specific blueprints and it's true what I've often told my Catechism students through the years, "God doesn't make junk!"
When we perform work that uses the unique design God imprints on us, it’s likely to make us happy!
And because our whole lives are meant to offer praise to God, finding and performing work that matches our personalities and passions is also one way we can offer our lives in worship to the God we know in Jesus Christ.
During our recent vacation to Virginia, in addition to visiting with family, we saw several important historical sites, among them Appomatox Court House, where Grant surrendered to Lee and the moving National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
There were several helpful, informative staff and volunteers at Appomatox Court House. But we were a little disappointed by the less than informative people stationed in the home of Wilmer McLean, the actual site where Grant and Lee met in 1865.
What a contrast they were to the enthusiastic sixty-something man who took us around the D-Day Memorial! With detail and passion, he spoke of the significance of each part of the place, as well as of the plans for a theater there using money donated by Steven Spielberg.
The difference between those in the McLean home and the man at the D-Day Memorial? The first two people were just doing jobs. The man at the D-Day Memorial was doing something for which he was made! His passion shone through!
Not all of us have the luxury of finding work that matches our innermost beings. That’s a sad fact in our sinful, fallen world.
- Single moms, for example, often simply have to take what work they can find in order to support their families.
- Family obligations can force people to stay on jobs they dislike because of needed insurance benefits.
- Some people are denied the work for which they’re made because of discrimination, be it based on race, gender, or age.
We Christians also need to be among the first to speak out against discrimination in society, against anything that prevents people from using their God-given gifts and abilities!
But, I also believe that since God takes such great care in designing each one of us, it’s very important that we pay attention to what our talents and passions are. They may lead us to our life’s work.
In the neighborhood in which I grew up was a little boy who often gathered all the spare chairs, stuffed animals, and little sisters he could round up at home and then play “church,” complete with a sermon. That should have taught me what my life’s work was to be, but it took years for me to find out that my God-given passion was also my vocation.
Element number one in job happiness is working at what you’re made for. But there’s a second element that helps us to be happy with our work.
A survey was once done among the supervisors of engineers. Engineering would be a total mystery to me. It involves numbers and intractable mathematics. It's quantifiable. You would think that being a successful engineer would only about getting the numbers right. But when these supervisors were asked to identify the reasons they'd dismissed engineers from their jobs in the preceding five years, something like 80% of the fired engineers weren't fired because they were incompetent. They were fired for an inability to work with others.
That doesn’t mean that engineers are a bad lot. It means that no matter what our fields, we have to work with people.
Good relationships with those with whom we work is another thing that makes us happy with our work.
Of course, everybody has some run-ins with the people with whom they work. The Bible seems to teach that conflict with others, even those we love--especially those we love--is an inevitable part of life. In the New Testament book of Ephesians, we're told, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger...” The Bible is telling us, “Be honest about your emotions. Work out your differences with others.”
In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus discusses how Christians are to resolve difference. We’ve incorporated this process into the constitution of Friendship Church. But you can apply Jesus’ principles for conflict resolution to your families and to your places of work, too.
The process is simple:
- When you have a problem with someone, go to them first.
- Don’t gossip about it.
- Explain how you feel to the person with whom you have a problem.
- Listen to the other person.
- Work together toward a common solution.
- Most importantly, submit the whole situation to God in prayer. God should be the third member of every relationship we have. This is true even if the other person doesn't believe in God. You can invite God into any circumstance, a partner Who's with you all the time.
Putting Jesus’ method for conflict resolution into effect isn’t always easy, though. It can be uncomfortable.
In my former parish, I made a stupid mistake--allowing a burn barrel fire to spill out of the barrel and onto the neighboring softball field. I was able to quickly put out the fire. But the softball field was black and I felt awful about it. I got word though that one of my church members was telling people that I had blamed the children of the congregation for the fire. I was upset. Especially because I’d had such good rapport with this man before. I was angry. So, I picked up my phone and called the man and asked him if he’d said this about the incident. “Yes.” “Why?” I asked him. “You know me better than that. You know I wouldn’t blame someone else for something I did.” “I know, Pastor,” he said. “Sometimes I’m a gossip. I’m sorry.” From that day forward, that man and I were good friends. The New Testament tells us, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Of course, not all of our efforts to be on good terms with those with whom we work will be successful. Not everybody wants to live peaceably. In our second lesson for today, Paul writes to a young pastor Titus that if some folks are consistent troublemakers in the church, he needs to quit hanging out with them.
We may reach an analogous place in our work lives. Co-workers or supervisors may make our work lives unbearable. We may have to ask to be switched to a different department. We may have to quit our jobs and find other employment. I believe that if we’ve made efforts at reconciliation and accommodation, God will help us find new places of work where we can be happy.
Work at what you’re good at. Seek to maintain positive personal relationships on the job. There’s another element that the Bible mentions that relates to job happiness.
My best man’s father was forced to quit high school and enter the work force at age seventeen when his own father died under tragic circumstances. This could have led Stan to spend his work life as one of those resentful workers who wait for five o’clock each day so that they can wait for age sixty five so that they can spend retirement waiting for Golden Corral to open.
But that isn’t what happened. Instead, he rose to an important position in one of Columbus’ largest banks. He was always enthusiastic and in fact, loved his job and his co-workers so much, that he stayed beyond the usual retirement age. He’s seventy-eight years old now and recently had a cancer scare. But he can still bench press 250-pounds! The last time I saw him, he grabbed my friend by the scruff of the neck and said, “I love my boy!” Then, he grabbed me and added, “I love both my boys!”
The third element for job happiness is having the right attitude, a commitment to doing your best every day, and then doing it.
I love the wisdom from God that King Solomon put down in the Old Testament, “Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.”
Want to be happy with your work?
- Do what God built you to do.
- Work on maintaining positive relations with others.
- Work on maintaining positive relations with others. Throw yourself into your work with a good attitude.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Brief Look at This Sunday's Bible Lessons
[During worship celebrations of the congregation I serve as pastor, Friendship Lutheran Church, Amelia, Ohio, we're coming to the middle of a three-part series called Christians and Work. My message for this installment of the series will be built around two passages of the Bible: Psalm 139:13-18 and Titus 3:9-11. To help folks prepare for worship and hopefully, be helpful to other readers of Better Living, here are a few comments on the two passages. By the way, if you live in or are visiting the Cincinnati area, feel free to worship with us. Sunday worship starts at 10:00AM]
Psalm 139:13-18
13For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.
A Few Comments...
1. The Psalms are often referred to as the Old Testament hymn book. This book contains 150 songs, most of them obviously designed for use in worship. One of the things that stands out about the psalms is their remarkable honesty. Whether for individuals or groups of people, they give voice to the entire spectrum of human experience, from great joy to grief. Included too are pslams that express anger with God and mystification in the face of tragedy.
The psalms thus encourage the sort of honesty that goes into good relationships. Honesty about our feelings with God are especially important. That fact plays an important part in this psalm.
2. Most of the psalms, like this one, is attributed to David who, in addition to being an accomplished soldier and shepherd, was evidently no mean musician.
3. Because the psalms do run through the gamut of human experience and especially, human experience with God, different types or genres of psalms can be identified. Biblical scholar Claus Westermann names several:
4. Psalm 139 (see the whole thing here) is, in Westermann's reckoning, a "Psalm of Descriptive Praise or Hymn." Others in this category include Psalms 8, 29, 33, 100, 111, 145-150, and more. Portions of other psalms share the characteristics of psalms in these categories as well. According to Westermann:
Titus 3:9-11
9But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, 11since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned.
A few comments...
1. While some modern scholars dispute whether the first-century evangelist and preacher Paul wrote this letter. But it has traditionally been attributed to him. The text, of course, claims to be from Paul, although in fairness to those who claim he isn't the author, it was thought perfectly legitimate for those who were taught by a great rabbi or who were trained in his school of thought to write in the teacher's name.
2. Titus, a Gentile Christian who worked with Paul, is mentioned in Galatians 2:1-3. (Paul's authorship of Galatians is undisputed.) Titus was overseeing church on the island of Crete. Like the other "pastoral epistles," which include First and Second Timothy and this book, Paul is giving advice, admonishment, and tips to young pastors.
3. Our lesson comes near the end of the letter. Here, Paul is giving advice to Titus on how to handle things when people wander into spiritual errors. But the words have implications for how we handle disputes in other contexts.
Psalm 139:13-18
13For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.
A Few Comments...
1. The Psalms are often referred to as the Old Testament hymn book. This book contains 150 songs, most of them obviously designed for use in worship. One of the things that stands out about the psalms is their remarkable honesty. Whether for individuals or groups of people, they give voice to the entire spectrum of human experience, from great joy to grief. Included too are pslams that express anger with God and mystification in the face of tragedy.
The psalms thus encourage the sort of honesty that goes into good relationships. Honesty about our feelings with God are especially important. That fact plays an important part in this psalm.
2. Most of the psalms, like this one, is attributed to David who, in addition to being an accomplished soldier and shepherd, was evidently no mean musician.
3. Because the psalms do run through the gamut of human experience and especially, human experience with God, different types or genres of psalms can be identified. Biblical scholar Claus Westermann names several:
Community Psalm of LamentOther Biblical scholars identify categories differently from Westermann. But his list gives a good feel for the range of topics addressed by the psalms.
Community Psalm of Narrative Praise
Individual Psalm of Lament
Individual Psalm of Narrative Praise
Psalm of Descriptive Praise or Hymn
Creation Psalms
Liturgical Psalms
Royal Psalms [dealing with the place of kings in God's rule]
Enthronement Psalms [used when Israel's new kings were installed]
Wisdom Psalms
Psalm 119 [its own category]
4. Psalm 139 (see the whole thing here) is, in Westermann's reckoning, a "Psalm of Descriptive Praise or Hymn." Others in this category include Psalms 8, 29, 33, 100, 111, 145-150, and more. Portions of other psalms share the characteristics of psalms in these categories as well. According to Westermann:
The psalm of descriptive praise or hymn (Hebrew: tehillah) is a uniquely liturgical song, the song of a congregation gathered for worship...Psalms of this sort, hymns, were often accompanied by instrumental music of various types...In fact songs of praise which celebrate God are one of the most important sources of music the world over...5. One of the most beautiful aspects of this psalm is how the speaker sees himself/herself connected to the great God of the universe who sees and understands everything about us.
Titus 3:9-11
9But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, 11since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned.
A few comments...
1. While some modern scholars dispute whether the first-century evangelist and preacher Paul wrote this letter. But it has traditionally been attributed to him. The text, of course, claims to be from Paul, although in fairness to those who claim he isn't the author, it was thought perfectly legitimate for those who were taught by a great rabbi or who were trained in his school of thought to write in the teacher's name.
2. Titus, a Gentile Christian who worked with Paul, is mentioned in Galatians 2:1-3. (Paul's authorship of Galatians is undisputed.) Titus was overseeing church on the island of Crete. Like the other "pastoral epistles," which include First and Second Timothy and this book, Paul is giving advice, admonishment, and tips to young pastors.
3. Our lesson comes near the end of the letter. Here, Paul is giving advice to Titus on how to handle things when people wander into spiritual errors. But the words have implications for how we handle disputes in other contexts.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Why We Work (Christians and Work, Part 1)
[This message was shared with the people of Friendship Lutheran Church, Amelia, Ohio, during the Sunday morning worship celebration on August 5, 2007. If you live in or are visiting in the Cincinnati area in the near future, you're welcome to join us for worship.]
Genesis 2:4b-9, 15
Second Thessalonians 3:6-10
Our son Philip was nine years old when we attended my Dad’s retirement party some sixteen years ago. On the way home, he asked me, “Dad, why do we work?”
There are days when we probably all ask that question. I'm convinced that knowing the answer to it can make a difference in our lives.
Some of you have heard me tell the story of two men cutting stone in the middle of a busy city. A passerby asked one man, “What are you doing?” Disgustedly, the worker said, “Look for yourself; I’m cutting stone.” Well, the passerby could see that much! So, he approached the second worker and asked the same question: “What are you doing?” This worker got a gleam in his eye: “I’m helping to build a cathedral!”
The two men were doing the exact same work. But the first one saw it only as his job. Something to be done with. A task disconnected from the world or any life purpose.
To the second man, cutting stones was a thing of dignity and fulfillment. Part of a greater, common cause.
Polling data consistently indicates that when it comes to their jobs, most people feel more like the first worker than the second. Speaking personally, as a second-career pastor, I can say that I’ve had lots of jobs I didn’t much care for. Most of them made me feel like the first stonecutter. I couldn’t see the point. They were drudgery.
But I’ve also been blessed with other work in my life, mainly that of husband, father, pastor, and community volunteer. In each of these jobs, of course, there are mundane tasks to be done. (As someone once said, "The grass may be greener on the other side, but it still needs to be mowed.")
Yet in these jobs, I feel that God allows me to play my part in building something wonderful in those whose lives I touch.
Not everybody would derive the same kind of fulfillment from my work that I do. “How can you stand dealing with people’s hurts and hospitalizations?” people ask me. To them, the work of a pastor would be draining. For me, it’s energizing.
God has wired each of us differently. And, I’m convinced that one of the most important searches that you and I can undertake in our lives is finding the vocations that make us feel like the second stonecutter.
So, I’ve come to believe that one of the reasons why we work is that God planned things that way. God gives us work to do--as employees, family members, and citizens of our communities.
In our first lesson, part of the Bible’s second account of creation in the book of Genesis, we’re told that God created the first human being and then planted a lush green garden for the man to enjoy. The Bible tells us, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”
God never meant for the man to sit around and watch the garden grow! God’s intention was always for him--and for all of us--to work. God wants us to all be part of something bigger. God gives each of us our own stones to cut so that we can care for, build, and renew the world He gives us.
This brings us to a second reason why we work. It's this: When we work, we most reflect the presence of the image of God within us. The Bible tells us that we human beings were created in the image of God. There are many implications to that statement, but one of them becomes clear when you scan the opening verses of the Bible as it talks about God. You’ll find phrases like, “God created...God separated...God named...God made.”
You see, God works. God creates. God builds.
And one look at the beautiful world in which you and I live demonstrates that God cuts no corners. There’s something intrinsic to being children of God that impels us to work.
This is something that a young artisan in Florence knew five centuries ago. One day, the Duke of Florence came upon this man and watched, as, with great care, he fit a box together. “What will the box be used for?” the duke asked. “Flowers will be put in it, sir” the artisan replied. “Then it will be filled with dirt. Why take such pains to make each joint and surface perfect?” The young man said simply, “I love perfect things!” The duke could hardly contain his contempt. “”It’s wasted effort,” he said. “No one will see its perfection.” Without a trace of arrogance, the young man said, “I will, sir. Do you think that when He was a carpenter in Nazareth that our Lord Jesus made anything less well than He could?” That duke thought that the young artisan was arrogant. But Michelangelo Buonarroti’s relentless commitment to do work worthy of the God Who made him and all of us is something we appreciate to this day!
So, we work because God has made us for it. And when we work, we reflect God’s image in us. But there’s a third reason that we work. Pastor Steve Goodier tells the true story of an elderly man considered by his townspeople to be both wise and thrifty. “When he died,” Goodier says, “everyone expected the authorities to find money stashed everywhere in his home. [But a]ll they found were a few gallon cans filled with coins. It turned out that he had used most of his money to help put needy young students through college. And the coins filled his pockets as he
walked down the streets of the business districts looking for parking meters that had expired. When he found one, he would drop in a coin. One of his neighbors commented, ‘That explains why he looked so happy and contented!’”
Here was a man who worked in his own special way even after he retired. He knew that another reason we work is to experience the joy that goes with serving others, that goes with being someone others can depend on.
The first-century preacher Paul know about this, too. In our second lesson, he chastises the members of the church in the Greek city of Thessalonica. He recalls that while he was with them, teaching them about Christ, he kept at his trade as a tentmaker. Paul felt that by working, he was keeping his end of the bargain as a member of the Christian community. In his work, he let others depend on him, just as each of us is called to do as part of our families, our communities, and our church. I like the homely way in which King Solomon reminds us of how each of us depends on one another in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes: “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.” We work because God has constructed the world in such a way that we all need each other to do our jobs well. Others are depending on us.
Now there’s a fourth reason for working which, I think, may only make sense to those who are followers of Christ.
In his fine book, Christians in the Marketplace, Pastor Bill Hybels tells the story of a young man his father hired to work in his wholesale produce business one summer. He was a student at West Point and rumor had it, a Christian. As Hybels tells it, many of his dad’s other employees were “rough...hard-drinking, hard-fighting, women-chasing men” who “relished the opportunity to make sport of a nice, clean-cut, all-American...” kid. They wanted to make this young man’s summer miserable.
But they didn’t. Instead, “David, the all-American boy, turned the company upside down.” On his very first day, he befriended some vagrants out behind the company warehouse. He gave them his lunch. Soon, he was doing Bible studies for them. Before the end of the summer, in his quiet, loving way, David had become a valued friend and counselor to some of the most hardened employees of the Hybels company.
I like what Hybels says after recounting this incident. “The shame of the marketplace is that so often it centers on nothing but business. There aren’t enough Davids in the workforce.”
Our daily work isn’t just about keeping the house clean, meeting deadlines, making money, or keeping the boss off our backs, although those can all be worthy goals. And no one should ever use their faith in Christ as an excuse for shirking their duties. (We all have known Christians at work about whom it could be said, "They're so heavenly-minded that they're no earthly good!")
But for the Christian, the key questions as we do our work boil down to a few:
Am I giving God glory?
Am I giving 100% every day?
Am I showing consideration--(another way of asking, Am I giving love) to my employer, my coworkers, my customers, or others I serve?
Many are the days when, I’m ashamed to say, I honestly have to say, “No” to questions like those...
“No, I haven’t been a good husband. I’ve been surly and selfish.”
“No, I haven’t been a good father. I’ve been impatient.”
“No, I haven’t been a good pastor. That sermon could have been much better.”
It’s then that I turn to God in repentance and ask for the power to recommit myself to giving Him all the glory in all that I do.
Why do we work?
We Christians work because when all is said and done, we really work for the One Who loves and works for us every moment of every day.
We work because Jesus Christ, the One Who went to the cross and rose from the tomb for us, loves us and nothing is so important to the Christian than to give back to the God Who gives us everything.
It did so even though slavery existed in Biblical times and was referred to in the Bible, Stark says, because only Christianity, among the world religions, insists on an almighty personal God with a future orientation.
Theology in the Christian tradition became not a matter of interpreting static laws, but of understanding a supremely loving Deity Who has a personality. Conjecture regarding varying pathways is possible in Christian theology in ways it isn't in various religious systems.
With its focus on the future, Christianity allows for a future that can change, that's neither a mere recitation of ancient cycles or a grim march toward inevitable deterioration.
Christians therefore believe that there are new truths to be discovered in God's Word which, because it's inspired by God, its original authors may not even have considered. In the same way that husbands and wives learn new things about one another as their relationships progress, Christ's Bride, the Church, may come to new understandings of God as the Spirit reveals more about God's Word. This is exactly what happened when the Church came to see that the institution of slavery, which the first Christians took for granted, must be abolished.
So, when Paul writes to slaves about their conduct with their masters, he isn't, as some claim, justifying slavery. He's giving instructions for faithful and shrewd living. Paul may not have been enlivened to all the implications of the Gospel which he rightly described as true freedom.
Who knows what new truths about Himself and His Word God may show to His Church in the future?]
Genesis 2:4b-9, 15
Second Thessalonians 3:6-10
Our son Philip was nine years old when we attended my Dad’s retirement party some sixteen years ago. On the way home, he asked me, “Dad, why do we work?”
There are days when we probably all ask that question. I'm convinced that knowing the answer to it can make a difference in our lives.
Some of you have heard me tell the story of two men cutting stone in the middle of a busy city. A passerby asked one man, “What are you doing?” Disgustedly, the worker said, “Look for yourself; I’m cutting stone.” Well, the passerby could see that much! So, he approached the second worker and asked the same question: “What are you doing?” This worker got a gleam in his eye: “I’m helping to build a cathedral!”
The two men were doing the exact same work. But the first one saw it only as his job. Something to be done with. A task disconnected from the world or any life purpose.
To the second man, cutting stones was a thing of dignity and fulfillment. Part of a greater, common cause.
Polling data consistently indicates that when it comes to their jobs, most people feel more like the first worker than the second. Speaking personally, as a second-career pastor, I can say that I’ve had lots of jobs I didn’t much care for. Most of them made me feel like the first stonecutter. I couldn’t see the point. They were drudgery.
But I’ve also been blessed with other work in my life, mainly that of husband, father, pastor, and community volunteer. In each of these jobs, of course, there are mundane tasks to be done. (As someone once said, "The grass may be greener on the other side, but it still needs to be mowed.")
Yet in these jobs, I feel that God allows me to play my part in building something wonderful in those whose lives I touch.
Not everybody would derive the same kind of fulfillment from my work that I do. “How can you stand dealing with people’s hurts and hospitalizations?” people ask me. To them, the work of a pastor would be draining. For me, it’s energizing.
God has wired each of us differently. And, I’m convinced that one of the most important searches that you and I can undertake in our lives is finding the vocations that make us feel like the second stonecutter.
So, I’ve come to believe that one of the reasons why we work is that God planned things that way. God gives us work to do--as employees, family members, and citizens of our communities.
In our first lesson, part of the Bible’s second account of creation in the book of Genesis, we’re told that God created the first human being and then planted a lush green garden for the man to enjoy. The Bible tells us, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”
God never meant for the man to sit around and watch the garden grow! God’s intention was always for him--and for all of us--to work. God wants us to all be part of something bigger. God gives each of us our own stones to cut so that we can care for, build, and renew the world He gives us.
This brings us to a second reason why we work. It's this: When we work, we most reflect the presence of the image of God within us. The Bible tells us that we human beings were created in the image of God. There are many implications to that statement, but one of them becomes clear when you scan the opening verses of the Bible as it talks about God. You’ll find phrases like, “God created...God separated...God named...God made.”
You see, God works. God creates. God builds.
And one look at the beautiful world in which you and I live demonstrates that God cuts no corners. There’s something intrinsic to being children of God that impels us to work.
This is something that a young artisan in Florence knew five centuries ago. One day, the Duke of Florence came upon this man and watched, as, with great care, he fit a box together. “What will the box be used for?” the duke asked. “Flowers will be put in it, sir” the artisan replied. “Then it will be filled with dirt. Why take such pains to make each joint and surface perfect?” The young man said simply, “I love perfect things!” The duke could hardly contain his contempt. “”It’s wasted effort,” he said. “No one will see its perfection.” Without a trace of arrogance, the young man said, “I will, sir. Do you think that when He was a carpenter in Nazareth that our Lord Jesus made anything less well than He could?” That duke thought that the young artisan was arrogant. But Michelangelo Buonarroti’s relentless commitment to do work worthy of the God Who made him and all of us is something we appreciate to this day!
So, we work because God has made us for it. And when we work, we reflect God’s image in us. But there’s a third reason that we work. Pastor Steve Goodier tells the true story of an elderly man considered by his townspeople to be both wise and thrifty. “When he died,” Goodier says, “everyone expected the authorities to find money stashed everywhere in his home. [But a]ll they found were a few gallon cans filled with coins. It turned out that he had used most of his money to help put needy young students through college. And the coins filled his pockets as he
walked down the streets of the business districts looking for parking meters that had expired. When he found one, he would drop in a coin. One of his neighbors commented, ‘That explains why he looked so happy and contented!’”
Here was a man who worked in his own special way even after he retired. He knew that another reason we work is to experience the joy that goes with serving others, that goes with being someone others can depend on.
The first-century preacher Paul know about this, too. In our second lesson, he chastises the members of the church in the Greek city of Thessalonica. He recalls that while he was with them, teaching them about Christ, he kept at his trade as a tentmaker. Paul felt that by working, he was keeping his end of the bargain as a member of the Christian community. In his work, he let others depend on him, just as each of us is called to do as part of our families, our communities, and our church. I like the homely way in which King Solomon reminds us of how each of us depends on one another in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes: “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.” We work because God has constructed the world in such a way that we all need each other to do our jobs well. Others are depending on us.
Now there’s a fourth reason for working which, I think, may only make sense to those who are followers of Christ.
In his fine book, Christians in the Marketplace, Pastor Bill Hybels tells the story of a young man his father hired to work in his wholesale produce business one summer. He was a student at West Point and rumor had it, a Christian. As Hybels tells it, many of his dad’s other employees were “rough...hard-drinking, hard-fighting, women-chasing men” who “relished the opportunity to make sport of a nice, clean-cut, all-American...” kid. They wanted to make this young man’s summer miserable.
But they didn’t. Instead, “David, the all-American boy, turned the company upside down.” On his very first day, he befriended some vagrants out behind the company warehouse. He gave them his lunch. Soon, he was doing Bible studies for them. Before the end of the summer, in his quiet, loving way, David had become a valued friend and counselor to some of the most hardened employees of the Hybels company.
I like what Hybels says after recounting this incident. “The shame of the marketplace is that so often it centers on nothing but business. There aren’t enough Davids in the workforce.”
Our daily work isn’t just about keeping the house clean, meeting deadlines, making money, or keeping the boss off our backs, although those can all be worthy goals. And no one should ever use their faith in Christ as an excuse for shirking their duties. (We all have known Christians at work about whom it could be said, "They're so heavenly-minded that they're no earthly good!")
But for the Christian, the key questions as we do our work boil down to a few:
Am I giving God glory?
Am I giving 100% every day?
Am I showing consideration--(another way of asking, Am I giving love) to my employer, my coworkers, my customers, or others I serve?
Many are the days when, I’m ashamed to say, I honestly have to say, “No” to questions like those...
“No, I haven’t been a good husband. I’ve been surly and selfish.”
“No, I haven’t been a good father. I’ve been impatient.”
“No, I haven’t been a good pastor. That sermon could have been much better.”
It’s then that I turn to God in repentance and ask for the power to recommit myself to giving Him all the glory in all that I do.
Why do we work?
- Because God wants us to work; it’s part of being human.
- Because when we work, the presence of God’s image in us is visible.
- Because when we work, we experience the joy of serving others.
- And because when we work, we glorify God.
We Christians work because when all is said and done, we really work for the One Who loves and works for us every moment of every day.
We work because Jesus Christ, the One Who went to the cross and rose from the tomb for us, loves us and nothing is so important to the Christian than to give back to the God Who gives us everything.
UNNECESSARY, BUT OH SO INTERESTING FOOTNOTE...
[*In his intriguing book, The Victory of Reason, which shows how the Christian tradition in the West fostered the development of rationality, science, and commerce, Baylor University professor Rodney Stark speaks of how central Christianity was to the virtual eradication of slavery in the tenth century. It played a similar role when slavery reappeared in Britain and the United States.It did so even though slavery existed in Biblical times and was referred to in the Bible, Stark says, because only Christianity, among the world religions, insists on an almighty personal God with a future orientation.
Theology in the Christian tradition became not a matter of interpreting static laws, but of understanding a supremely loving Deity Who has a personality. Conjecture regarding varying pathways is possible in Christian theology in ways it isn't in various religious systems.
With its focus on the future, Christianity allows for a future that can change, that's neither a mere recitation of ancient cycles or a grim march toward inevitable deterioration.
Christians therefore believe that there are new truths to be discovered in God's Word which, because it's inspired by God, its original authors may not even have considered. In the same way that husbands and wives learn new things about one another as their relationships progress, Christ's Bride, the Church, may come to new understandings of God as the Spirit reveals more about God's Word. This is exactly what happened when the Church came to see that the institution of slavery, which the first Christians took for granted, must be abolished.
So, when Paul writes to slaves about their conduct with their masters, he isn't, as some claim, justifying slavery. He's giving instructions for faithful and shrewd living. Paul may not have been enlivened to all the implications of the Gospel which he rightly described as true freedom.
Who knows what new truths about Himself and His Word God may show to His Church in the future?]
Friday, August 03, 2007
Brief Look at This Sunday's Bible Lessons
This Sunday at the congregation I serve as pastor, Friendship Lutheran Church of Amelia, Ohio, we begin a three-part series on Christians and Work. The first installment of the series will be built around two Biblical passages: Genesis 2:4b-9, 15 and Second Thessalonians 3:6-10. To help folks prepare for worship and hopefully help others who read Better Living, here are a few introductory thoughts on the two passages.
Genesis 2:4b-9, 15
4bIn the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
A Few Comments:
1. This is part of what appears to be the second of two creation accounts which open Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament. The first account, starting at Genesis 1:1, begins with a promordial flood and over a period of six days, culminates in the creation of human beings. In this account, God creates from a desert or a wilderness, causes water to spring up, and humans are the first creatures God creates from the unpromising sand.
2. The fact that the there appear to be two different accounts of creation at the beginning of the Bible shouldn't throw us off. The Bible is God's Word to us, but given the infinite distance between His intellect and our capacity to understand, that Word is nonetheless His baby from His perspective. In both accounts, in ways that we can understand, God wants to convey the simple fact that He created the universe and made humanity for a special relationship with Him and His creation. For more, see here.
3. Some scholars insist that Genesis 2:4-25 actually describes events that should be seen as sequentially following the events recounted in Genesis 1:1-2:3. I'm skeptical of that view.
4. V. 15 demonstrates that it was always God's plan for the human race to, like God Himself, work. The human call is to take care of creation. In all our vocations--at home, at school, or on the job, this is part of our call. Far from being a punishment, work is central to what we human beings are to be about. It imbues us with dignity and purpose.
Second Thessalonians 3:6-10
6Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
A Few Comments:
(1) The apostle Paul established the church in Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia (Acts 17). As The New Oxford Annotated Bible (Revised Standard Version) explains:
Paul's continuing concern for the spiritual development of the congregation at Thesslaonica caused him to maintain contact. The letter that appears as First Thessalonians in our New Testament was written in the early 50s-AD. Many scholars believe that Second Thessalonians was written the following year, 52-AD.
(2) Paul has traditionally been held to be the letter's primary author, although because of divergences in vocabulary and its understanding of the end times (eschatology), that's questioned. But the differences aren't so great as to make different authorship necessary. It should be pointed out though that in ancient times, it was thought perfectly legitimate for persons who belonged to a school of thought established by a rabbi to correspond in the rabbi's name.
(3) Like most of the New Testament letters (epistles), this one was written in response to specific issues that had arisen in the life of the congregataiton, in this case the congregation in Thessalonica. As The Archaeological Study Bible points out, there were three big issues addressed in Second Thessalonians:
Genesis 2:4b-9, 15
4bIn the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
A Few Comments:
1. This is part of what appears to be the second of two creation accounts which open Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament. The first account, starting at Genesis 1:1, begins with a promordial flood and over a period of six days, culminates in the creation of human beings. In this account, God creates from a desert or a wilderness, causes water to spring up, and humans are the first creatures God creates from the unpromising sand.
2. The fact that the there appear to be two different accounts of creation at the beginning of the Bible shouldn't throw us off. The Bible is God's Word to us, but given the infinite distance between His intellect and our capacity to understand, that Word is nonetheless His baby from His perspective. In both accounts, in ways that we can understand, God wants to convey the simple fact that He created the universe and made humanity for a special relationship with Him and His creation. For more, see here.
3. Some scholars insist that Genesis 2:4-25 actually describes events that should be seen as sequentially following the events recounted in Genesis 1:1-2:3. I'm skeptical of that view.
4. V. 15 demonstrates that it was always God's plan for the human race to, like God Himself, work. The human call is to take care of creation. In all our vocations--at home, at school, or on the job, this is part of our call. Far from being a punishment, work is central to what we human beings are to be about. It imbues us with dignity and purpose.
Second Thessalonians 3:6-10
6Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
A Few Comments:
(1) The apostle Paul established the church in Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia (Acts 17). As The New Oxford Annotated Bible (Revised Standard Version) explains:
Here [Paul] preached in the synagogue for three sabbaths, proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah, and proving from the Scriptures the necessity of his death and resurrection (Acts 17:3). Some Jews were convinced; many of the Greeks who had been previously attracted to the religion of Israel were also persuaded.A thriving new ministry ensued. Eventually however, many Jews in the city became perturbed with a movement that incorporated Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles). This group "accused [Paul] of sedition (Acts 17:7) and aroused such a disturbance that Paul and Silas were sent away by their friends by night..."
Paul's continuing concern for the spiritual development of the congregation at Thesslaonica caused him to maintain contact. The letter that appears as First Thessalonians in our New Testament was written in the early 50s-AD. Many scholars believe that Second Thessalonians was written the following year, 52-AD.
(2) Paul has traditionally been held to be the letter's primary author, although because of divergences in vocabulary and its understanding of the end times (eschatology), that's questioned. But the differences aren't so great as to make different authorship necessary. It should be pointed out though that in ancient times, it was thought perfectly legitimate for persons who belonged to a school of thought established by a rabbi to correspond in the rabbi's name.
(3) Like most of the New Testament letters (epistles), this one was written in response to specific issues that had arisen in the life of the congregataiton, in this case the congregation in Thessalonica. As The Archaeological Study Bible points out, there were three big issues addressed in Second Thessalonians:
On the one hand, these believers were enduring in the faith despite persecution (2Th 1:4). On the other hand, some had become frantic about the return of the Lord (ch. 2), while others had taken to living off the largesse of their fellow believers (3:6-15). Paul wanted to set the record straight.
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