“The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”  (ESV)

One of the principles that comes out over and over again in the proverbs is the importance of working hard.  Being lazy and relying on others to work for you is not the way to life.

While many today have internalized the mantra that they are “working for the weekend,” and that the real goal of life is to be able to relax and pursue a life of ease (often in retirement), the Scriptures proclaim a different approach.  

In the beginning, God created us to work.  While part of the curse of the Fall is that our work became beset by futility (something with which Solomon wrestles in Ecclesiastes), throughout the Scriptures, work is seen as not merely necessary, but noble and good.  God is always at work and expects us to join Him.  Our hard work is the medium by which He most frequently provides for our needs.  After all, we were created to be the caretakers for His creation.  As caretakers, our portion comes from the overflow of what we produce for Him.  We get to enjoy the bounty of His creation.  If we are not willing to work hard for that bounty, we should not get to enjoy it, right?

Indeed, receiving something we have not earned on occasion is a fun surprise, but when it becomes a regular routine it begins to poison our souls.  It engenders laziness.  When laziness becomes systemic, a part of a whole culture, that people will find themselves on a path to eventual ruin.

As Christians, we must encourage by our words and our example a culture that celebrates hard work and its attendant rewards.  We should reward hard work itself with honor.  This is not work for work’s safe either.  That leads to futility.  It is work that enlivens and ennobles the soul.  We should celebrate innovation and ingenuity.  We should honor automation where it frees us from futility and grants us time to study and understand our world more fully so that we can find new, creative ways to continue working it.  WE should empower people at all stages of life to enjoy the produce of their productivity.  As we pursue this well, we will experience the satisfaction and joy of a job well done and we will bring honor to the maker and creator of it all.