Work and Economics

1. Work as a Divine Calling

·      Genesis 2: 15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

·      Exodus 20: 9-10: “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.”

·      Ecclesiastes 3: 13: “Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”

·      Ecclesiastes 9: 10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”

2. Diligence and Hard Work

·      Proverbs 6: 6-8: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

·      Proverbs 10: 4: “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

·      Colossians 3: 23-24: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

·      2 Thessalonians 3: 10-12: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”

3. Stewardship of God’s Creation

·      Genesis 1: 26-28: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ … And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

·      Psalm 8: 6-8: “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”

·      Matthew 25: 21: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

·      1 Corinthians 4: 2: “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

·      Proverbs 3: 9: “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.”

·      Ephesians 4: 28: “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

·      2 Corinthians 9: 6-7: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

4. Warnings Against Laziness and Mismanagement

·      Proverbs 13: 4: “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”

·      Proverbs 24: 30-34: “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

·      Matthew 25: 26-30: “But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

5. Eternal Perspective on Work and Stewardship

·      Colossians 3: 17: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

·      Revelation 22: 3: “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”