Can I just say, I am so tired of people who don’t want to work. I’m tired of telling the machine at the gas
pump I want a receipt and the paper not being refilled. I’m tired of meeting cashiers, waiters and
attendants that clearly would rather be doing anything other than what they are doing. I’m tired of
workers in the hospitality industry who get irritated with questions. I don’t think the term “hospitality”
has been defined for some of these folks! I’m tired of dirty bathrooms, cold food, sticky restaurant
tables and prices that resemble Saks 5 th Avenue. It can be frustrating living in this old world, can’t it?!
I’m tired, but then I take a breath. The first thing I remember is that good work ethic comes from God. If
a person doesn’t know God, they won’t ever engage with work in a healthy way. They’ll either just
endure it, passing it off until something better comes along or they can retire, or they’ll make work their
identity, giving everything to their work and saving nothing for anyone else. A healthy work balance is
rooted in Christ. Let me explain what I mean.
We’re taught today that work is a curse. “You work because you have to. Play as often as you can!” But
this isn’t at all right and it produces a lazy attitude in both work and play. Work was woven into our
fabric by God as soon as we were created. God created Adam to enjoy Him and work the Garden. The
pleasure was in working alongside God in everything and in seeing the positive results of his labor. Sin
interrupted all of this, but it didn’t destroy the nature of work. Certainly, the curse made work
sometimes painful and often difficult, but it didn’t remove its joy or God’s involvement in it. Anyone
who’s ever built something strong, fixed something right, or planted something and watched it grow,
understands what I’m talking about. There’s a satisfaction that comes with a job well done that is
unmatched. When a person is rooted in Christ, work becomes enriching and full. It makes life sweet, not
unbearable.
The second thing I remember when I’m frustrated by a lazy work ethic is that we live in a place where
jobs are plentiful, everyone has something to eat, houses are common and safety is relatively available.
There are many countries around the world where none of these things are common or available. Work
becomes so much easier in a country like ours. But it also becomes easier to ridicule and under-
appreciate. In countries that have little to nothing, work is a privilege. Something like we saw 100 years
ago in the days of the Depression, people rise early and spend their days looking for work. They’re
grateful when they can find a little here and a little there.
The third thing I remember when I’m frustrated by a culture that devalues work is we are creating and
even encouraging it’s decreasing value. Everything from subsidies eager to supply reasons not to work,
to video games that imply play is more valuable than work, we are living in a world that thinks work is a
curse. What do we do about that? What can be done about that?
The third thing I remember when I’m frustrated by a culture that devalues work is we are creating and
even encouraging it’s decreasing value. Everything from subsidies eager to supply reasons not to work,
to video games that imply play is more valuable than work, we are living in a world that thinks work is a
curse. What do we do about that? What can be done about that?
The third thing I remember when I’m frustrated by a culture that devalues work is we are creating and
even encouraging it’s decreasing value. Everything from subsidies eager to supply reasons not to work,
to video games that imply play is more valuable than work, we are living in a world that thinks work is a
curse. What do we do about that? What can be done about that?
The third thing I remember when I’m frustrated by a culture that devalues work is we are creating and
even encouraging it’s decreasing value. Everything from subsidies eager to supply reasons not to work,
to video games that imply play is more valuable than work, we are living in a world that thinks work is a
curse. What do we do about that? What can be done about that?
