Sharing God's Perspective on Work

Divine Perspective to Work

God has been a worker. He worked six days at creation and rested on the seventh. Jesus said, hitherto my Father works and I work also.
Through work, God created man. And the purpose of man's creation was to continue the work where God stopped after six days.

Genesis 2
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and THERE WAS NOT A MAN TO TILL THE GROUND.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 AND THE LORD GOD FORMED MAN of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Emphasis mine)

Man was made to continue where God had stopped. We must be clear about the origin of work. Work isn't a result of the fall of man.

But work was primarily affected by the fall of man. The fall took God out of the scene and just as it stripped man of his supernatural covering, it also took man away from supernatural providence. He would have to work to eat and to die working without corresponding results. That wasn't the original essence of work.

Genesis 3
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.


The repercussions of Adam's failure was that work will assume a new role in his life. His body which wasn't made for work will replace his spirit that was made for it. In his labor, the earth won't cooperate with him any longer. The work he would do from thence on won't bring the commensurate outcome. The work would wreck his body. The word 'sorrow' there is health related, not just emotional. And the ground would swallow the body up after the work would have killed him.

This is because God didn't plan that he would feed on his works. God doesn't feed on His own works. God doesn't receive a salary after every 7 or 30 days of work. God went on to plant a garden for him and put in there everything he would ever need, while he continued where God stopped until he fell.

He fell because he used what was meant for something else for food. He fell because he allocated resources badly. He fell because he mismanaged divine resources. He fell by eating what was not meant for food. He was a manager of God's resources but he failed at basic management. We should learn.

What the arrangement showed us is that, though we have the power to work, and continue creation as our basic purpose for living, we are also to continue to depend on God for our sustenance.

Work is empowering. It makes us like God. It makes us creators, explorers, providers, and so on. God made work so powerful. You can't work without power, either spiritual, mental or physical. Work is a sign of power. It had the ability to create and dominate, it can enrich and create wealth. It also has the capacity to create an object of worship. It can become in itself an independent figure of worship. Most nations that won't recognize the existence of God usually replace Him with work.

Man has the penchant of worshiping the work of his hands. 'What can God do for me,' he asks, 'when I can create it for myself'.

God through work created man, and man in turn is making gods for himself by work.

No matter what we can make from work, we must never forget that it's all because of God. We must constantly depend on God and not just on the works of our hands lest we slip into idolatry.

God made the promised land a place where you have to depend on God to survive.

Deuteronomy 11
10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:

11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:

12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

It should be clear, from that passage the mind of the jealous God concerning man's work.

God doesn't take pleasure in the strength of a horse or in the legs of a man.


Psalms 147
7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

 9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

The strength of a horse and the legs of a man represent human efforts without God, and God frowns at it.

God never permitted the sound of an anvil in the vicinity of the temple site while building, the works of man must never take the glory of God otherwise it becomes idolatry. 1kings 6:7, Isaiah 42:8

However, Work can never lose its relevance. To be fruitful and to multiply, to replenish the earth, to subdue it, we must work; it's divine commandment. But we need to share divine perspectives so as not to abuse work and expect it to replace God's providence even if it comes through work.

We should learn from Job, who though was one of the richest in his days and prospered greatly from his labor would still attribute all to God's blessings and providence. To him, it is a denial of God to look to the work of his hands. Hear him...

Job 31
24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

25 If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;

26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

Let's keep our faith in God's providence while we make the pursuit of His purposes and reason as our daily work. We'll see Him planting gardens around us demonstrating His power and wisdom to take care of us.

We should work, because that's why He made us here, but we should trust Him as if we are weak and dependent only on Him. In that we would be thankful for every single benefit He loads us with daily and not worship the works of our hands in idolatry.

Good morning!
Watch out for the book on Divine Providence coming later this year by God's grace...