View Blog Entry

I felt terrible. A sweet friend confessed her frustrations with the people around her.

“I’m working, and I can’t pay my bills. I don’t have debt—just the necessities. Yet my healthy neighbors sit on their porches, drawing government assistance and making no effort. It’s not right.”

Knowing that a wonderful and hard-working person had to drive to the local food bank because she couldn’t earn enough to buy food broke my heart.

It’s easy to throw out the line that God never promised it would be easy. Even if that phrase was used in the proper context, it didn’t apply here, but these were the things “well-meaning” Christians tossed at her. Through all their advice, not one pitched her a better job or the means to buy food.

Paul was a hard worker. He took his job of preaching Christ seriously. Paul called gifts of provision a blessing, but he also paid for his needs. He praised the Thessalonians for their goodness and, at the same time, warned them about idleness. He reminded the people that he paid for his upkeep to not be a burden on any of them and so they might imitate his example. And then came his warning—no work, no eat. Paul addressed the issue of idleness by encouraging the people to work and earn their “own” living. This was the right thing to do.

I understand life these days is hard. Our nation has survived a pandemic when literally everything stopped, and though we are past that now, some still suffer the residual. Although slow, businesses are on the rebound, and folks have returned to work. Still, there are those few who live with a hand extended, insisting they are owed more. The longer those individuals wait to return to work, the harder it is to do so, and the more they take from those truly in need.

We contacted a ministry that provided the provision my friend needed, and she was overwhelmed by how God heard her prayers and answered them.

Rejoice in your labor in the Lord. Offer Him praise for your opportunity and provision. And remember, our labor is not just in earning money but, like Paul, in bringing others to His feet. There lies the real reward of the work.

Labor Day recognizes workers who add to our country’s prosperity and make this nation great. Be proud of your efforts. Work brings joy, and God delights in us when we work hard.