The Christian and Work

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the

work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians
15:58, NKJV).

Rexon Nainggolan
Work is God’s idea.
• In the ideal world before sin, God gave Adam and Eve the task of caring for
the garden (Gen. 2:15).
• Tuhan menugaskan Adam untuk memelihara Taman Eden (Kejadian 2:16)
• Tuhan menugaskan Adam untuk memberi nama hewan (Kejadian 2:19,20)
• Tuhan memberikan hari perhentian hari sabat (Kejadian 2:2)
• Sejak awal Allah menyuruh mereka bekerja selama 6 hari
• Adam dan Hawa akan mengalami juga kelelahan sehingga perlu hari peristirahatan
• Kutuk Tuhan adalah atas tanah, bukan atas pekerjaan (Pelajaran hari Jumat).
• Like their Creator, in whose image they were made, they were to be
employed in creative labor and loving service. That is, even in an unfallen
world, a world without sin and death and suffering, humanity was to be at
work.
• To Adam was given the work of caring for the garden. The Creator
knew that Adam could not be happy without employment. The
beauty of the garden delighted him, but this was not enough. He must
have labor to call into exercise the wonderful organs of the body. Had
happiness consisted in doing nothing, man, in his state of holy
innocence, would have been left unemployed. But He who created
man knew what would be for his happiness; and no sooner had He
created him than He gave him his appointed work. The promise of
future glory, and the decree that man must toil for his daily bread,
came from the same throne.
Anak-anak harus dididik untuk Bekerja
• Among the Jews, every child was taught a trade. In fact, it was said that
a father who didn’t teach his son a trade would raise a criminal.
• Educating our children to work is all part of the training to prepare them
for the ministry ahead.
• A job offers a reason for getting up in the morning. Give a teenager a
job, and there’s one fewer candidate for delinquency.
• How to avoid sin?
• Jesus, the Son of God, spent many years doing His Father’s will in
honest labor as a skilled craftsman, perhaps providing people of
Nazareth with needed furniture and agricultural implements (Mark 6:3).
• "Let us teach the little ones to help us while their hands are small and their
strength is slight. Let us impress upon their minds the fact that labor is noble, that
it was ordained to man of heaven, that it was enjoined upon Adam in Eden, as an
essential to the healthy development of mind and body. Let us teach them that
innocent pleasure is never half so satisfying as when it follows active industry.—
Child Guidance, p. 127, par. 1.
• "The life of Christ from His earliest years was a life of earnest activity. He lived not
to please Himself. He was the Son of the infinite God, yet He worked at the
carpenter’s trade with His father Joseph. His trade was significant. He had come
into the world as the character builder, and as such all His work was perfect. Into
all His secular labor He brought the same perfection as into the characters He was
transforming by His divine power. He is our pattern. Parents should teach their
children the value and right use of time. Teach them that to do something which
will honor God and bless humanity is worth striving for. Even in their early years
they can be missionaries for God.—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 345, par. 2-3.“
• From a very early age He acted His part in sustaining the family. He realized that
He was a part of the family firm, and willingly bore His share of the burdens.—My
Life Today, p. 168, par. 3.
• "The path of toil appointed to the dwellers on earth may be hard and wearisome; but
it is honored by the footprints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in this
sacred way. By precept and example, Christ has dignified useful labor. From His
earliest years He lived a life of toil. The greater part of His earthly life was spent in
patient work in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth. In the garb of a common laborer the
Lord of life trod the streets of the little town in which He lived, going to and returning
from His humble toil; and ministering angels attended Him as He walked side by side
with peasants and laborers, unrecognized and unhonored.
• Angels delight in a home where God reigns supreme and the children are taught to
reverence religion, the Bible, and their Creator. Such families can claim the promise,
“Them that honour Me I will honour.” As from such a home the father goes forth to
his daily duties, it is with a spirit softened and subdued by converse with God.—The
Adventist Home, p. 27, par. 2-3.
• When He went forth to contribute to the support of the family by His
daily toil He possessed the same power as when on the shores of
Galilee He fed five thousand hungry souls with five loaves and two
fishes. But He did not employ His divine power to lessen His burdens
or lighten His toil. He had taken upon Himself the form of humanity,
with all its attendant ills, and He did not flinch from its severest trials.
He lived in a peasant’s home; He was clothed with coarse garments;
He mingled with the lowly; He toiled daily with patient hands. His
example shows us that it is man’s duty to be industrious and that
labor is honorable.—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p.
276, par. 3-4."
Work is the gift of God
• “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while
they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is
the gift of God” (Eccles. 3:12, 13, NIV).
• Out of necessity, we work to put food on our tables, pay the bills, and save a little for hard
times. Losing a job is often worse than putting up with a poor work situation.
• Work can give a person a sense of worth. Work is a common way to answer the question
“What do you do?” or even “What are you?” Most retirees continue to work part-time as
long as they are able, whether for pay or as a volunteer. A job offers a reason for getting
up in the morning.
• Deuteronomy 16:1515 Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord your God in the
place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your
produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.  Seperti
memberi makan ayam.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your
might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in
Sheol where you are going.
• Proverbs 21:25 The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, For his
hands refuse to work;
• God has given us “the work of our hands” so that we can find
fulfillment and joy (see Prov. 10:4, 12:14).