What's Justice Got to do With it?

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Collasians 3:23

This instruction to the Collasians is very good advice. Whomever your employer is they deserve to have you working wholeheartedly and willingly. You will gain a much better reputation amongst your co-workers and superiors by following this advice. That being said, I believe this verse is often mistaken to be a command to spend your life at work, forsaking entertainment for the sake of a job.

I believe that we, as Christians, should work wholeheartedly while at work but we also need to set up boundaries and leave our work at work. Our families, friends, rest and entertainment are just as important as a job well done. The author of Ecclesiastes, most likely Solomon, tells us that he "undertook great projects, building himself houses and planting vineyards. Making gardens and parks and planting all kinds of fruit trees. Yet after surveying all that his hands had done and what he'd toiled to achieve everything was meaningless (the Hebrew word 'Havel' meaning vapor, smoke) or fleeting, that he'd gained nothing.

If we are laboring to gain something or store up wealth for ourselves we are wasting our lives 'chasing after the wind' seeking the unattainable. Whatever wealth we store up doesn't spare us from the inevitable, death. Our financial gain will be left to someone else. Best case scenario we've given money to our children or other relatives to lighten their load for the remainder of their lives. Worst case scenario, with no found heir, our money will be taken and used by our government.

If we are working to build a legacy our work is in vein, the writer of Ecclesiastes also tells us that 'there is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.' Very few people throughout history have been remembered through future generations. People spend their lives working to make it to the olympics, a year or two after recieving their medal most have forgotten their names and their accomplishment. As soon as a new athletic record is set someone younger is working on beating the record. Mere days after a super bowl is won the winning team is working to make it to the following years super bowl.

Martin Luther King Jr. will probably be remembered forever, he's certainly already attained a longer lasting fame than most of his generation, yet I know someone who did a lot of research to find and expose all of his flaws, the great works that he did were overshadowed by his short comings. Though he is no longer here to defend himself his very memory is tarnished by living a less than perfect life. Some of America's founding fathers, though having great ideals on how a more perfect nation would be run, are actually remembered for being slave owners. People don't like to think that others are greater than themselves so they will go to great lengths to expose the negatives of anyone seeking notoriety and fame.

So if our labor and toil is meaningless in acheiving fame and fortune why should we do it? I believe we should be working for the pride of a job well done. Whatever our job we should be seeking to do it with integrity. A bank teller should keep in mind that someone elses security is in their hands, they should be seeking to find them the best investments. Stay at home parents, obviously, should be using their time to influence and raise children to have a sense of values and integrity. An actor, musician, comedien should be seeking to bring entertainment into a world filled with pain and misery. A secretary needs to keep in mind that they keep a business running. Their work is freeing up the time of their superiors to accomplish more.

In the story of the garden of Eden in Genesis God created the earth and it was good. It was a self sustaining land, rivers were there to water the garden. The Lord put Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it. He was put in the garden to work it before eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the first sin) which means that work is not a result of sin, it was a way for man to occupy his time from the beginning. After the first sin the ground was 'cursed with throns and thistles' man was sentanced to painful toil and sweat. Christ, however, came to earth to break the curse and taught us to pray 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.' If we are seeking to do God's will on earth as it is in heaven we should be looking at the creation story as an example, before the fall God set up a system of how life should be. That we, as humans, would work the land He created and care for it and take pride in our work, not that we would let it work us to death.

In the old testament the Israelites were commanded not only to take a sabbath day of rest but also to give the earth a sabbath year. In that sabbath year the Israelites were commanded not to work the ground, not to plant or to harvest crops, nor to trade with the other nations. We practice this princible amongst pastor and missionaries, we call it a sabbatical, though I think that most don't do this as an every seventh year practice, it's when feelings of burnout overcome us, burnout that often comes from being overworked.

Jesus understood that life was about more than work, how often do the gospels make mention of him amongst a crowd of people. He spent enough time partying to gain a reputation (though false) of a glutten and a drunkard. When sisters Mary and Martha had invited Jesus into their home Martha being distracted by the work needing to get done was upset with Mary for sitting with Jesus. Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen what was better. I don't believe Christ was suggesting that people stop working but that we realize that their is a time for everything, a time for work and a time for rest.

If we were to live as God commanded the Israelites, taking a Sabbath year what would this require of us? First it would require that most of us learn to handle our finances much more responsibly than we are accustomed to doing. We would need to save a sixth of our income every year so we could live off of it in the seventh year. Though many places in the bible tell us not to worry about our future or to place our security in wealth I don't believe it is suggesting that we be irresponsible with our finances either. If we made ourselves a little less concerned with having all the latest gadgets and newest versions of everything we would probably have enough money to know that we'll be alright when days of trouble come.

Wouldn't it be nice to know that we could afford the trip home if we learned a relative had suffered a terrible accident, that we may not have a chance to say goodbye if we don't hop on the next flight? In the midst of what is being called a financial crisis it would be great to know that we'll be alright if we get laid off and need to live off of our savings for a while.

So, to reiterate, work at whatever you do with all your heart but remember that work is only one aspect of a complete life. Also, work as though working for the Lord, ignore the financial aspect, if money is the motivating factor it will never feel like enough money. If our focus is on the good that we can do, God who sees even when our boss isn't working, we will be much more motivated to do a good job. Also, if we work wholeheartedly while at work, not allowing ourselves to be distracted by checking our email, sneaking in a personal phone call or other personal business, we will accomplish much more during our actuall work hours and won't be expected to take our work home with us.