Holiness in work
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."
I recently had the opportunity to share my take on the Christian perspective of work.
I was afforded this opportunity by my client, International Scripture Ministries, during their monthly devotional call with us. I’ve been a Christian my entire life (though not always a “good” one) and it’s refreshing to listen and share with my worldview with others who have similar core beliefs as me.
I hope I encourage you with the below mini-message that I shared with the group.
Be blessed in your work this week.
Shavua Tov,
Nick
Scripture of reference & initial context
Genesis 2:10-15 (English Standard Version)
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15 (Orthodox Jewish Bible)
15 And Hashem Elohim took the adam and put him in the Gan Eden la’avod (to till, to work) it and to be shomer (keeper or watchman) over it.
The concept and practice of work was introduced very early in the holy scriptures. I find this interesting - why the author (under the inspiration of Yahweh) would make quick mention of work.
Yahweh's initial creation was beautifully perfect and yet He still placed someone there to work and tend to it - not simply to consume it.
I’m fully aware that there is certainly much debate - even in Christian circles - of the literalism of the creation story found in Genesis.
I’m going to full avoid that discussion here but I find it fascinating that whether the creation story is literal fact or a historical narrative that Adam (or the man) was placed in a perfect garden/existence and yet still had to work.
This concept is fully contradictory to the curse that many in society place on their work today.
I get it, the Monday morning alarm clock can occasionally elicit an eye roll out of me but I still find solace in my belief that “work” was established from the beginning as a holy institution by Yahweh.
My attempt at starting my week
I try to make this a regular practice each day but find certain value in starting my week in this manner. To be clear, I don’t believe there is any magic formula or spell that I’m casting here - I’m simply making a couple minutes to commune with my God and request His blessing over my work.
Lord, bless my work this week.
May my hands be profitable so that my family is blessed so that we may continue to bless others.
May my mind be filled with wisdom so that I may be sound in my decisions.
May my feet walk in righteousness so that I may always point others to Christ.
I’m not only asking for a supernatural blessing over my work and earnings but also for Yahweh’s strict direction in my life. The layman’s and less holy way to understand my prayer:
Lord, bless my work this week.
May my hands be profitable - my family depends on my income to feed us and we also want to silently give to others that have fallen on terrible times.
May my mind be filled with wisdom - I find so many gaps in my knowledge and sometimes I can be stupid.
May my feet walk in righteousness - I try to walk in righteousness but I’m really a much better sinner than I am a Christ follower.
I suppose everything mentioned above is both a petition to my God and reminder to myself that I’m trying to lead a professionally successful life while also honoring Him. The reality is that I’m not always the most talented and yet always being pulled toward evil.
A Jewish twist on my Christian worldview
For those who aren’t aware - the Old Testament was written by Jews.
Jesus, the Christ, was a Jew himself.
Side note: Jesus didn’t write any scripture himself but you should read about his life in the Gospel of Luke.
I have found great interest in the Orthodox Jewish tradition to ending their week during Shabbat (or their sabbath or weekend).
Pockets of the Jewish community gather together for a meal and recite the Havdalah blessing at the end of their feast. I found this blessing to be beautifully moving and reminder of the holiness that we can obtain.
A cup is filled to the brim with wine so that it overflows and spills over. The overflow represents the overflow of blessings we desire from Yahweh - blessings in this life and not the next.
A blessing is then pronounced by all:
First blessing:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.
Second blessing:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates spices of fragrance.
Third blessing:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the lights of fire.
Fourth blessing:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who separates between holy and secular, between light and darkness, between Israel and other peoples, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who separates between holy and secular.
The blessing is concluded by everyone declaring “Shavua Tov” or “Good week ahead”.
May it be a week of blessings, resource provision, and holiness in everyone’s endeavors.
I find this beautiful. I hope you do the same.
Final thoughts on the holiness of work
I’m primarily speaking to the Christian.
Feel free to offense but perhaps take what I’m saying into consideration.
Should we as Christians feel justified in our daily damning of the workday, our workplace, bosses, and professional endeavors? I highly doubt it.
Yes, I’ve worked for a with some Class A jackasses (there’s me using “jackass” again). I’ve also quite guilty of cursing my entire situation in these work situations.
Though this recent perspective shift for me has really opened my mind and spirit to a different approach in my professional life.
Yahweh placed each and every one of us on this planet to work. Work both in the home and in the marketplace. We were never given a commandment or teaching that pointed “living for the weekend” or obsessing over retirement.
Balance is important.
Avoiding burnout is important.
Running from unrighteousness business dealings is important.
But obsessively searching for those above problems is not the proper route. Trying so hard to find those issues simply to avoid work does not honor the work-mandate Yahweh issued to humanity at its dawning.
Work forces us to interact with others therefore giving us the opportunity to show God's love to others. I have introverted tendencies therefore work creates easy opportunities to interact with others.
Work leads to revenues leads to opportunity to bless others through either compensation or charity.
Realizing and recognizing our talents through our work helps us to avoid the quick ask for a miracle - the skills, talents, and dispositions afforded to us by The Most High are already incredibly miraculous.
Yahweh endowed us with incredibly unique skills, characteristics, traits, and talents - we were given life to put those into use and be the (working) hands of Yahweh on planet Earth.
Closing blessing
Psalm 90:17
17 Let the favor[a] of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Notations
I give credit of much of this teaching to the following resources:
Why Are So Many Jews Rich? (with Rabbi Daniel Lapin) | Kosher Money Episode 16
The Secret to Becoming TRULY Rich (with Rabbi Manis Friedman) | Kosher Money Episode 20
Thou Shalt Prosper - Authored by Rabbi Daniel Lapin