The Bible says that work is a gift from God; we were designed by God to work, created in His image to be His co-workers in the world. If work is so good, why is it so hard?

September 30-October 1, 2017

Introduction and offering:

ILL: Do you want to know the quickest way to get me to swear? Plumbing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tackled what seems like an easy plumbing project, only to have something go haywire. Do it, undo it, redo it—multiple trips to the hardware store—and still…it leaks. Now every time I grab my tools, my wife begs me to call a plumber. “Please,” she says, “I want you to stay saved.” I do have to say that our shower was leaking last week, and I fixed it. Sort of…

Work can be frustrating. Things break, go wrong, don’t work as planned. We’ve all experienced some version of Murphy’s Law: whatever can go wrong, will. (picture of car smashed in garage). Think about your work and how hard it is and what frustrates you—it’s not hard to imagine, is it? What about your work makes you say, “Really?” Work can be frustrating.

Even in my job, as a pastor, you might think that it’s nothing but joy—no problems, just doing God’s work with God’s people every day! Happy, happy, happy! But it can be incredibly frustrating. I work like crazy to give a talk that will move people to take a step toward Jesus—and some do, but for many, it seems like it goes in one ear and out the other. I do my best to love people and invest in people—and they leave, and sometimes they leave for the silliest reasons. “Really?” I do my best to lead, but often I’m frustrated by my own incompetence, or weakness or stupidity—I’m constantly backing up and taking another run at it.

Why is work so hard? Last weekend I said that work is a gift from God, that we were designed by God to work, created in His image to be His co-workers in the world. If work is so good, why is it so hard? If God’s plan for work is good, why are there so many problems with work? That’s the question I want to address today.

For this 3-week series, “God and Your Work,” I’m borrowing heavily from Pastor Tim Keller’s excellent book, Every Good Endeavor. I’m able to cover some of the highlights, but there is so much more in here—if this is a subject you care about, I encourage you to get the book and read it. We have copies available at our cost in the Commons.

Offering here.

So if work is God’s design for us, if work is so good, why is it so hard? Here’s the Bible’s answer.

Genesis 1-2, the story of creation, explains the design and dignity of work. We were created in God’s image; God works, so we work; we were given work to do in Paradise, to cultivate and care for God’s world as His co-workers. All this is in the first two chapters of the Bible. It’s God’s plan for work.

And then we get to Genesis 3—and what happens? The f