“So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” —Genesis 2:19
It’s alarmingly easy to fall into the lethargy of “What’s the point of all this?” We were put on this earth, but for what reason? Yes, to glorify God, but we have to make a life for ourselves somehow. But… why? Are we really here to simply grow up, do well, and get a job?
As a matter of fact… yes.
As I’ve mentioned before, work is often viewed as a separate entity from the rest of our lives. Sometimes we merely tolerate it, waiting for 5:00 so we can get on with what we really want to do. So imagine my surprise when I heard a homily recently about work, of all things. God made man in His image. He created Adam out of the dust of His very creation, in what I imagine was a grandiose occasion. But what did God do right after, even before He created Eve?
He put Adam to work.
Well, first He gave Adam rules. “Don’t eat the fruit of that tree.” God created man, set one seemingly simple ground rule, and then instructed him to name everything in creation. That’s some job you’ve got there, friend.
We don’t know Adam’s opinion in all this. But I can’t imagine him griping over this tremendous task put before him. (After all, he hasn’t eaten the forbidden fruit yet, so everything is peachy-keen.) It’s just him and God, working together to name all the creatures surrounding him. Adam had a honest-to-goodness job. And so do we.
What gain has the worker from his toil? … I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; also that it is God’s gift to man that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. —Ecclesiastes 3:9, 12,13
Work isn’t merely this grudging thing to tolerate. It can certainly feel grudging. We have difficult days. Or difficult situations. Or personality conflicts. But from the very beginning, we had a purpose. We are not meant to be idle.
In our work, may we glorify God. May we provide services for our fellow people, or care for the land He has created, or further His work in study and outreach. Adam was a single human being in charge of all of creation. But now, God provides each of us with our own skill sets and our own duties. We are to work, and to work together. On days where it seems grudging, and we don’t understand why we have to do it at all, remember: Adam, too, had a job.
