God, Labor, & Prosperity

On this Labor Day, I’ve decided to labor less than usual. I think I’ll just remind us all of how God sees our labor. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 8, Moses recounts the wanderings of the children of Israel in the wilderness and gives them this warning:

In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.”

But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

The first lesson in this passage is that we need to be humble in any prosperity. We have this tendency to ascribe success to our own ingenuity. The second component is the bedrock truth that God is the one who gives us the ability to produce wealth. Anything we have ultimately comes from Him, and we should be grateful.

LaborIn the New Testament, in the third chapter of Colossians, we are urged,

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Our jobs are ministries, whatever they might be. No matter how secular you may think your job is, God wants you to understand you are serving Him by doing it well. Further, we should do it well. He requires nothing less than our best.

May these thoughts on labor and prosperity be a blessing to you this day.