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

Since the beginning of time, part of God’s plan was for his creatures to have a purpose. He put Adam in the Garden to work and take care of it. It wasn’t until sin entered the world, that work was done by the sweat of the brow and the aching of tired muscles.

Over time man began to use other human beings to do his work.  He became a boss – a supervisor – a manager.  He still had to make sure the work was done to his specification and design, but the wear and tear on his own body became less and less. As with most things, left in the hands of man, those who were managing took advantage of those under them.  This led to the formation of unsatisfied workers laboring in deplorable conditions for unreasonable periods of time and little pay.  Then came the unions.

Government got in on the action as well, by managing the unions and submitting to many of their demands.  The unions became a special interest group, lobbying for their own personal agendas.   What should’ve been a good thing quickly turned corrupt.

Every first Monday of September we celebrate the worker and rightly so.  Laborers are the ones who made our country the power that it is.  Buildings were erected out of steel.  Railroad track were laid by thousands who lost their lives in the process.  Cities were carved out of prairies and civilizations sprouted up all across the land. Today, many jobs have been replaced with machines or computers, but there is always a need for workers to man the machines.  Work is a blessing from God as it was part of His original plan for man.  We can also count on Him to be right beside us as we work.

Today most people look at this holiday as another day off – an end to summer – back to school – no more goofing off.  We should never forget that God instituted work for our benefit.  He knew we needed something more to do than simply wile away the hours, consorting with the flowers.

“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson