This week's Bible Study - January 31, 2010
Wrestling with Work
 Background Scripture:
Ecclesiastes 2:18-26; 5:18-20
Quote of the Week:
“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.”
-- Oscar Wilde
As the last several lessons have taught us, there are many aspects to life that can be good when handled in the right way, but can become very problematic when they are out of kilter. All of the things that God has made serve a purpose and when used in their intended way, they are a blessing to each of us and to God as well. We can certainly think of how this is true with so many areas of life. It is good to have things, but when things have you, they have lost their intended purpose. And, you've probably thought about how good a fire in the fireplace can be on a cold winter night, but an out of control fire in your house is an altogether different story (no matter how cold it is outside)..
This lesson has to do with the issue of work. Work is indeed a good thing. Work gives each of us some sense of fulfillment. God really does want us to be able to provide for ourselves and our families. There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that speak to the issue of work. Here are a couple of verses from Proverbs, as an example.
Proverbs 12:11 - The one who works his field will have plenty of food, but whoever chases daydreams lacks wisdom.
Proverbs 16:26 - A laborer's appetite works on his behalf, for his hunger urges him to work.
God does intend for us to work. Through our own experiences, we see that work can be somewhat of an enigma. On one hand, the person who has a job often complains about their work and sees many reasons to grumble. On the other hand, the person who needs a job and can't find one would gladly accept the position of the other worker, however disgruntled. We all go through periods in our lives where work becomes a toilsome endeavor and other times when work is truly seen as a blessing from God. If you can work and support the needs of those close to you, consider yourself blessed. If you are able to work around others that you enjoy, consider yourself as blessed. I have been fortunate in my career to work with many great people from whom I have learned many life lessons. Even in working with others that have been difficult to deal with, I have learned much.
We all have our views of what work is like - its good points and its bad points. However, we must always turn back to what the Bible says as our standard. We were created by God to have some sort of work life, so we need to see how that is intended to happen. And, we also need to remember that some people can't work, due to many different issues. God has a plan for them as well. There are others whose work is in the house, as they support a spouse or someone else in their family. Others work in a volunteer capacity, and though they are not paid, they get a sense of fulfillment and meet other needs that need to be met. God has a special purpose for each of us, and no matter where you work, or how formal that work arrangement is, these principles still hold.
We need to remember once again that the human author of the book of Ecclesiastes was Solomon. Of course, the words he wrote were inspired by God, so while they were what he observed, God uses them to apply to many aspects of our lives. Solomon had the means to obtain whatever he wanted, to do what he wanted and to basically choose his own course of life. Throughout the book, it is obvious that he often did that to his own detriment.
The words in this passage echo a sentiment by many people, especially many people who work and save money throughout their life. Although they may have a system down on how to make and save money, those who come after them may have totally different views. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to spend a whole lot of money than it is to make that same amount of money? As we spend time in our lives, we need to work and to provide for the needs of those we love, and to even meet some of the wants we have. However, we must realize that there are many things that are out of our control. The writer writes that the one who comes after this worker will have control over all the work into which he had poured his effort and skill under the sun. When you put everything you have into something to see it being wasted by someone who doesn't appreciate your efforts, this truly is meaningless.
Solomon wrote about how he began to despair over all his toilsome labor under the sun. He noted that a man may do his work with all wisdom, knowledge and skill. I have worked with some incredibly gifted people in my career. Some of them have been able to solve very complex problems. Others are able to persuade others in the path that needed to be taken for success. There are many people that have knowledge, but it truly is skill to apply that knowledge as wisdom. I've seen many 'book smart' people that really couldn't handle a real problem that they faced. In real life, the answer isn't in the back of the book and the steps that you take in theory are very seldom the steps you face in reality. This is true in many careers. You need to know the basics, but it is a much greater art to be able to apply what you know.
When a person has invested so much of their own effort into their work, and have accomplished great things, it can seem to be a great misfortune to leave it to someone who has not worked for it and does not appreciate it. Granted, there are times when the child or the one to whom assets are left will put forth an incredible effort to continue what had been begun, and even make it better. The point, however, is that there is no guarantee of how things will continue after you've passed them off. Many years of toil can easily be wiped away. As the writer states; this too is meaningless.
If you're like me, you like to see some sort of results in your work. I've never been the best guy in doing things around the yard or the house, but when I do finally do something (even as menial as mowing the yard), I like to see a job well done. It's good to see that and to be able to sit back and enjoy what you have done. This may work in some tasks that we do, but there have been very few times in my career where I felt I could sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. There have been a few recognition events and those are enjoyable, but it is always implied that we did really good, so now go do better. I've never heard anyone at work say that it's time to take it down a notch, unless someone was losing their cool. That had more to do with attitude and less about results.
You probably know somebody that you would classify as a workaholic. They may be very nice people, but their work life gets a little too much priority and they have a hard time focusing on other things. It may even be you. I know people that have struggled with this throughout their entire careers. I have to admit that at times I have been somewhat of a workaholic in the past to my own detriment. In my work, projects often span a period of several years, with many difficult technical obstacles along the way. There have been times when I have brought problems home (in my mind) and thought about them all throughout the evening and into the night. I can recall waking up thinking about the problem, with the 'answer'. I sometimes wondered what would happen if I tried to recall my 'answer' the next day and act on it. One time, we had been wrestling with a particular problem for several weeks with no apparent solution. I woke up knowing that I was supposed to call a guy (Mike S) who on our program. He didn't work at my company and was located in San Diego. It really didn't seem to have anything to do with the issue, but I just knew. I called him in the morning and, while he would have liked to help, he had no idea of what I was talking about. I think I thought about that problem too long. Sometimes, it is best to lay the problem aside and walk away.
When we put our efforts into our work, there are some side detriments, if we have given the wrong priority to our work. Solomon writes that the man who labors under the sun has days which are full of work and grief and even at night, his mind does not rest. I certainly know what that is like from time to time. When you put so much into your work and realize that many other things that should have been more important get put off to the side, you may find yourself in a place you never wanted to be. At the time, it may have seemed the thing to do, but all of that pain and grief associated with work can become overbearing.
So, on one hand, we see that to work is a God ordained thing that we are called to do. Again, it may be outside of the house, inside the house, in a volunteer capacity or in some other manner. As stated, there are potential issues with letting work get to us too much or to realize that you can only carry that baton so far, and whoever comes after you can easily undo what you spent months or years doing. We can easily see that our attitude towards work needs to be appropriately focused so that we don't go too far to the side. But, what is it that we are to do. Surely Solomon's words will not always be negative and depressing about life.
In this passage, we see that the key is to eat and drink and find satisfaction in our work. Work should be something that helps us to meet our basic needs, and it should also be a source of satisfaction. Even with all the other issues and problems that we face, there is a certain satisfaction in a job well done, whether you are recognized or not. If you're looking for recognition, you may be sorely disappointed. In some efforts that I have put in many hours for many months, we met a goal and there was no recognition. In another effort, I looked up a piece of data for a team, which only took a couple of hours, and I was recognized along with the team. That was nice, I guess, but if I really wanted the recognition, I would have rather had it on the longer, more difficult project.
God is telling us that the ability to find satisfaction in our work comes from God. To the one who pleases God, he will give wisdom, knowledge and happiness. But, to the sinner, he gives the task of gathering and storing wealth, only to hand it over to others. Even in this way, God often provides for his people. Do you feel God's hand upon you in your job? It is easy to look at the things about our work. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair. We may not be fairly compensated for all we do, or we have menial tasks, or things seem shaky and unsteady. When our focus gets placed on these types of things, we rob ourselves of the joy that God wants us to give. Do you realize that whenever you want to find a problem, you can easily find it? Sometimes, we spend more time looking for the problems and disregard the blessings right in front of us.
God wants to give you satisfaction in your job. He wants to give you what you need to do your job and contribute to the task at hand. I have seen this in very real ways in my life. I know that in many respects, God cares very little about the projects that we work on, but he always cares about us. Sometimes, we've had a team wrestle with a problem for a long time and finally I will really spend time in prayer about it. I take a step away from it and ask God's direction and leading. In many more than one case, he has answered in very specific ways. I was able to see things I had missed before. Part of this is true in a very practical sense. Sometimes, you get so close to a problem that you can't see the solution. Stepping away will sometimes help, but I'm talking about a supernatural power that can help guide you in what you do. I remember hearing about a doctor from my church that went to Haiti several years ago to perform surgery in a very remote area of the country. He didn't have the facilities or the backup that he had in any hospital here. It was little more than a shed with a dirt floor and a table. It was certainly not considered to be the most sterile environment. I remember him talking about the picture on the wall. It was of a surgeon getting ready to operate and behind him stood Jesus, with his hand guiding the surgeon's hand as he began to operate. He said that he realized at that time the power of the presence of the Lord. You may not be operating on others in your job, but God still wants to give you what you need; to guide you in the steps you need to take in your job. When you sense God working in even what may be considered an otherwise menial task, you will surely find satisfaction in your job.
As Solomon concluded his thoughts on work, he realized that work is indeed a good thing. Although there are many potential problems that are around our corners and we may have many wrong ideas of about what work is supposed to accomplish, there is a lot of goodness that can come out of our work. It is written that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of the life that God had given him. There are many things we go through in life, and sometimes we as believers act as if we are supposed to be martyrs. However, God intends for us to enjoy and find satisfaction in our lives.
Additionally, God does bless many people with wealth and possessions, enabling them to enjoy them. One of the problems that many people have with wealth and things is that they allow those things to have them, as opposed to having the things. The thing that happens to many that get wealth is that they intend to wrap their arms around the wealth and want to hold on, and to hoard. It is a natural reaction when you get something that you've never had to want to hold on to it more than you should. It's interesting that it is written that God enables people to enjoy them. God also enables people to accept their lot and to be happy in his work. In our world, we are constantly prodded to want more, have more and do whatever it takes to get it. In some cases, this is good, but that type of attitude can truly take over a person's life.
Closing
Work is indeed a blessing from God. We all go through times in our lives where our jobs seem toilsome, but even then we need to remember what God intended. Do your best at your job, but don't let your job own you. Many people find themselves getting into a mode where they are working during the day, at night and on the weekends. I've found that "Work at Home" programs can be convenient at times, and at other times, a curse. It is a great thing to be able to step away from the job and focus on the rest of your life.
Do your best in your job and always seek to be the best that you can be. Work to provide for the needs that you have and make wise decisions in how you use your money. God doesn't want you to not have wealth, but he also does not promise that you will always have money in the bank. If you can keep the appropriate priority on your work, you can find that you God will use your job to bring much joy in your life.
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