The Problem at Work
Genesis 3:16-19 ESV:
16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain, you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he
shall rule over you.”
17And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it, ‘cursed is the ground because of you; in pain, you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were tak en; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Introduction:
The American Journal of Epidemiology published a study that revealed that stress at work puts the same strain on the heart that causes blood pressure, gain of weight, and aging quicker through this causes. Of all the lifestyle issues we face today in the workplace, stress is the most prevalent (widespread). This is not just affecting work, but also our relationships and families are affected.
Things that are giving us stress and problems at work.
1. When you have a new boss, and the boss hired you resigned.
2. When you feel overworked, and nothing is being done.
3. When you feel inadequate.
4. When you are not being recognized for your accomplishment.
5. When you are not receiving salary increases.
6. When you think Company is not prominent.
7. When you feel it’s time to find new opportunities.
8. When you are not getting along with co-workers.
9. When you missed your deadlines.
10. When you feel your co-workers are not doing their job.
I am sure there are more. What about us? What are the things giving you problems and stress at work?
We understand this situation in our workplaces, and it is sad that we are feeling this way and not hav ing the joy that God expects from us. Remember when we pray for this job and God answers our prayer? We say, “Thank you Lord it is a blessing.” Now since we are no longer happy, we put the blame on God and sometimes we think maybe I made a wrong decision. Do you think you can find a perfect workplace in this fallen world?
There are two parts we can view in this theology of Work. The first part is basically the background or a recap of what we have learned from last week. This is for our clear understanding of what relies on the issues from work that we are experiencing as a believer and a reminder of how we can continue to endure this temporary life on this earth as we work for the glory of God.
I. Work before the fall of Men – Genesis 2:15 “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
God can provide for our daily needs directly by the miraculous provision as He once did to the nation of Israel when He fed them daily with mana. But God has chosen to work through human beings with different capacities and talents to serve each other. So, God did not put Ad am just to relax and enjoy the Garden but also to work. Work is not a result of sin. God has placed Adam to cultivate His creation. It is God’s plan and design for humanity. The work cultivates in Hebrew in Genesis 2:15 is “work” or “service”. It carries the idea of care and protection. God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to work and care for it.
Work is a blessing from God creating us to work and God also has a bigger plan in mind. Four things we can see are God’s plan for Work.
a. Design - God initiated work and a gift for mankind that will give life with a purpose. God is a worker. b. Dignity – God design it and we are made in the image of God then it is worthy of honor and with respect in work (only man is set apart to work)
c. Cultivate – God created all things that need to be prepared and used.
d. Service – God created man to do work from the garden God created.
William Tyndale said, “If we look externally, there is a difference between washing dishes and preach ing the Word of God, but as touching to please God, there is no difference at all. That’s a biblical view of work, that there’s no difference when done to the honor of the Lord between preaching and washing the dishes.”
Now these are God’s great plans for humankind regarding work. It is still the same plan God intended for us now. The problem is sin. Sin has corrupted our nature. That will bring us to the second part. Why do we have problems at work?
We have learned the biblical study of work a perfect design of God but that is not what we experience, and we all know that we are living in a world that is corrupted by sin. Let us see how this is connected.
II. Work after the fall Men – Work is not a curse, but it changes the nature of work. The curse did not bring about work. Let’s make that clear. Fall curse work due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
“‘Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain, you shall eat of it all the days of your life; So here is the part of the problem. 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you:” and you shall eat the plants of the field.19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground”
The work was good in the beginning, but sin spoiled it. After Adam rebelled, God cursed the ground, so that creation itself thwart our efforts (Gen.3:17-19). Drought, hail, and pests ruin crops, the disease kills live stock, extreme temperatures damage equipment, and living things suffer generic decay. The worst is sin mis directing our labors; when greed becomes the leading motive, engineers ignore design flaws, manufacturers cut corners and marketers lie to customers. Even if the project is good, personal sin ruins them, and we shift the blame for our errors. We grasp credit for success as we step on each other to advance our careers. Mis ery accelerates when we rebel and band together. A lot of things can cause our work problematic.
Somebody suggests that originally man was a gardener and the curse turned him into a farmer or origi-
nally man was a flower arranger and the curse turned him into a plow horse. Why be cause of the sin of man sin has corrupted our nature to do work. It affects our attitude, action, and aim in life due to sin that causes us problems and stress at work.
Old Testament Scholar David Atkinson wrote “Shame …is that sense of unease with your self at the heart of your being.”
We know there is something wrong with us, but we can’t admit it or identify it. There is a deep rest lessness in various forms -guilt, striving to prove ourselves, trying to assert our independence, compliance, and pleasing others. We know the effects, but we fall short of understanding the true causes. So, here are
some elements of a changed heart due to the nature of sin that caused our work to be stressful and ex tremely hard.
1. New Master (Self, Money, Career) – Work becomes pointless and fruitless because it is now about the self (ourselves). It’s all about making a name for ourselves.
A good example here is the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:3-4 “Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens and let us make our names for ourselves.” So how did God punish them not by destroying the tower but instead by “confusing their language”? Work was designed to be selfless
this is now the name of the game in this world. How can we advance ourselves at the expense of another? How can I construct an identity for myself around my work? Let God do the exalting, not us.
2. New Motive (Security, Stability) – Work becomes self-sustaining and greedy. Case study, Luke 12:16 -21 “The land of a rich man produced plentifully and he thought of himself, what shall I do for I have no where to store my crops and he said to himself, I will tear down my barns and build a larger one and there will I store all my grain and my goods” And said to his soul now you can relax for many years and eat, drink and be merry” But God said to him, Fool! Tonight, your soul is required of you.”
That is what this world is persuading or convincing us. We want stability and security, and for sure we want more money for retirement so we can live a great life before we die. Really! I am not saying don’t save. We must save but not make it the means to the end of work.
3. New Mission (Expand Self Kingdom) – Work becomes self-focused & self-entitlement. Whose king dom are you prioritizing? Whose kingdom are we expanding? Are we making a difference in someone’s life? God’s kingdom is to make a difference in the life of people. How is our attitude? How do we handle stress and problems in our workplace? What kind of life is portrayed in the workplace? One Pastor said there are many secrets (Christian) agents in the workplace. They don’t want to be recognized, they want to blend in. Our attitude is the same as before they became Christian. People don’t want to be labeled “Is that a Chris tian?” or “You are Hypocrites.”
We know from God’s Word that, work was designed to be fulfilling, but it is frustrating. In whatever work we do, we want to be fulfilled, we want to have joy, and we want to accomplish things, but even on our best days, we are continually plagued (distress) by our lack of ability to do everything we want to do, our lack of resources to carry out all that we desire to do, our struggles with co-workers and bosses and em ployees who have different ideas than we do about how to do this or that.
This is in every kind of work—work in the church, work in business, work in medicine, work at school,
work at home. Even those who thoroughly enjoy their jobs find themselves frustrated at times in their jobs. Sometimes students have the idea that they want a job that will al ways fulfill and never frustrate them, and the reality is that job does not exist on this earth. Every job on this earth, along with every part of this earth, has been subjected to frustration (Romans 8) through sin in the world.
The question is what is the solution? We all know the answer to all these issues. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only answer to this fallen world specifically in our workplace. Let us be reminded that “our master is Jesus Christ; our motive is to do the will of the Father and our mission is to spread the Gospel of Christ.” That is, it! That is our calling and ultimate goal in life and workplaces.
1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” April 23, 2023/Rev. Roldan Manlapig