Theology @ Work – Work’s Curse

“Whatever God’s original intent for work, because of the Fall it is now just a curse.” Sometimes it feels that way, but it isn’t true. As our theological overview goes from God’s work in Creation, to our being made in His image, to our Calling as workers, we come to the Biblical account of the Fall – the rebellion of Adam and Eve in Eden. This account describes humanity’s separation from God, and the consequences. One of those consequences is for the nature of work.

In Genesis 3:17-19 we read God’s words to Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Notice that the curse is on the circumstances and conditions of work, not on work itself. I deduce from this that work itself is still just as high a calling as it was before humanity’s rebellion. But now, work is full of difficulties, barriers, exertion and frustration.

This is a very important distinction. It is so easy, especially when work is particularly hard or tedious or stressful, to think that work must surely be an evil burden that we have to bear, and that we work only because we have to in order to eat. From there, we will go through the motions, doing as little as we can get away with, just counting the hours until we can go home for some “real living”. But if we really believe that work is still God’s primary intention for us, and that our calling to work is a calling to partner with God in His Kingdom, then work becomes the highlight of our lives. This is true whether it is manual labor, routine office work, high-powered executive work, home-making, teaching or foreign missions. In a sense it is all the same to God. It all has barriers and burdens. It all has the potential to transform lives, to reconcile Creation to God, and to be a part of God’s redemptive purpose in His Kingdom.

Bottom line – if our attitude to work is that it is a necessary evil, cursed by God because of the Fall, then we will likely not see God in it, will not be aware of the opportunities it presents, and will not find it fulfilling. On the other hand, if we still see work as God’s special gift to us, we will recognize the difficulties as results of humanity’s brokenness and separation from God, and will look for what God is doing and join Him in His work of redemption. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the second approach any day, with gratitude to God for the work He has called me to.