Daily Devotional – 1468 – A Little bit of Labor

Daily Devotional – 1468 – A Little bit of Labor

Some thoughts for today by Papa “J”

Ergon, a Greek word meaning “work”, to labor or toil – Itstsbown (its-tsaw-bone) a Hebrew word for “toil” meaning to be worrisome, to labor in pain or sorrow. If you tie Hebrews 4:10 and Genesis 3:17 to the thought of work the challenge of resting in the LORD is clearer.

Comments and Challenges

When we come of age we seek employment and begin to earn a wage for the labor we complete daily. Any large corporation including the government seeks to obtain good results of their employees. A normal work day in our nation is eight hours; the good result that management looks for is over seven hours of production, excluding a half-hour break for food but including two 15 minute breaks to freshen up. The average employee today will produce a little over five hours of work. 

Since God worked to create the world the question is: Did God worry, or did He labor in pain and sorrow over what He Created? The answer is emphatically – NO! God does not sin and what He created was viewed by Him as being VERY GOOD – Genesis 1:31. The Hebrew word for “very” is “meod” meaning loudly, and the word good is “towb” meaning, among other definitions of the same “joyfully the best”. So it gives me “goose bumps” to think that when God looked at what He had labored over for ‘SIX DAYS’ that His words “very good” were heard throughout His Created world. All of creation including Adam and Eve heard that message.

Strike One: In an eight hour day most of us will walk with the counsel of ungodly people.

Strike Two: In an eight hour day most of us will stand in the path of sin.

Strike Three: In an eight hour day most of us will sit in the seat of scorn.

The three strikes above are common in the work place and take time. Ten minutes listening or participating in the counsels of all sorts of subjects unrelated to the job at hand. Twenty minutes agreeing with the sin within the office or work site like; complains over materials, tools, bosses or other employees. Then there are the moments of scorn that develop in the mind while we sit and seek to work, but the mind prevents production because worry has taken over.

We do not leave the workplace with a shout that is heard by all “This was very good” see you tomorrow. No it is more like we are nothing but “chaff” being blown away by the foulness of a heart full of pain and sorrow because we cheated those who put their trust in our effort; Psalm 1:1-6