Labor Day - Give thanks

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17 ESV)

It is Labor Day here in the US. A day set aside as a holiday to appreciate the worker and their efforts. But look around, look at all the businesses that are open today. Not only are they open, but they are having sales encouraging more traffic and more work for their employees.

God wants us to rest, he intended work to be easy until the advent of sin. But still, He wants us to rest. For those of us old enough, we remember the blue laws. Nothing was open on Sunday. Now, only car dealers are closed. You see, we have stopped glorifying God and thanking Him for the gifts we use in our jobs. We constantly tout our own accomplishments in getting to where we are in our careers. But we must always remember that it is the gifts from God that provide all those opportunities. He gave some of us greater aptitude to learn, gave some of us great skill to work with our hands. But make no mistake, He is the one responsible for everything we have.

I am a little afraid of what is to come. I see this current generation coming into the workforce with such an attitude of entitlement. That is what God originally intended, but once Adam and Eve sinned, we were destined for hard work. The young generation doesn't want the hard work, they just want the reward. I leave you today with prayers for all those that labor and with one last passage from Genesis.  Be thankful for God sending His Son to die for our sins, but also be thankful for His gifts to us and the hard work we are destined to do.

And to Adam he said,
"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
'You shall not eat of it,'
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:17-19 ESV)