Is Work Part of Adam’s Curse?

Is Adam to blame for the fact that most of us must work to earn a living? Is work part of God's curse on humanity for sin? Dr. David K. Bernard looks at Genesis 3:17-19 to discover how we should view our daily tasks in light of Scripture.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Is work a result of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden? In Genesis 3.19, God told Adam, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground. Is it Adam's fault that we have to punch the clock every day to earn a living? The answer might surprise you. Welcome to Apostolic Life in the Twenty First Century, a podcast dedicated to helping modern-day believers live out the teachings of the first century church. This podcast is part of the teaching ministry of Dr. David K. Bernard. Dr. Bernard has dedicated his life to studying the Bible and helping believers apply its message to their daily lives. In Apostolic Life in the 21st century, Dr. Bernard answers your questions about what the Bible teaches and how those teachings apply to everyday life. Thank you for joining us for this episode. If you enjoy this podcast, we encourage you to check out Dr. David K. Bernard's books. Dr. Bernard has written more than 30 books on biblical theology and Christian living and leadership. Visit Pentecostalpublishing.com and search David Bernard for a list of available titles. Enter promo code DKB10 at checkout to save 10% on your order. That's Pentecostalpublishing.com, promo code DKB10 to save 10% at checkout. Today we want to ask you about a biblical theology of work. And I'd like to start by just sharing something that probably a lot of kids had happened to them when they were younger. My parents attempted to instill in my brother and I uh some sort of work ethic. And so they would assign us chores like many parents do. And I specifically remember, and I'm my parent, my dad is a pastor, so we were familiar with Genesis 3, and we would always complain to my parents that, you know, when we get to heaven, we've got a few things we're going to tell Adam about, you know, it's because it's his fault we have to clean our room and mow the lawn. Now that I've gotten a little bit older, I think maybe my theology of work was a little off. Is work a curse? Is that what God was saying in Genesis 3 or or something is something else going on in Genesis 3? Can you explain to us what the Bible says about work?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Let me say we need a good theology of work. So work is God's plan for humans, it's not part of the curse of sin. Now, toil, agony, you know, suffering. I'm not sure I could say how it's suffering. But we can say to a great extent, that is the result of sin. So uh Genesis 3 talks about you'll contend with thorns and thistles, and in the sweat of your brow you'll you'll have to work hard, and women will have pain in childbirth. So part of the agony or the uh suffering or struggle uh may be, you know, would we would say is a curse of sin. But before there ever was sin, if you go back and read in Genesis, and I have Genesis 2.15, uh I'm reading from the New King James, then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. So apparently God had a plan for Adam and then Eve to be busy tending, keeping, protecting, managing. Um, and God did say to be fruitful and multiply, take dominion over the earth and subdue it. This doesn't mean to exploit the earth in a negative way. Um, Christians should be good environmentalists in a proper way, because our job is to manage and steward. So as stewards, we are not the owners, but we're to take care of it for the owner who is God. So there is a very robust teaching of work, even hard work, management, stewardship. And you know, when we talk about suffering, why does God allow suffering, which is a big topic, and we've talked about that before. But one of the things is there are benefits from suffering. So I don't think that we had to have sin enter the world, but I do believe there's a concept of achievement and maybe struggle in a positive sense, overcoming adversity. So when you hike up a steep mountain, um, that's not something you penalize yourself with, but it's something you want to achieve. But it does require struggle and exertion and effort. But we see that as positive, even exhilarating, the adrenaline and all that, even though there may be sweat and agony, it's almost a good thing. Or uh when we work out or we exercise or when we get involved in sports, or even in business, we plan strategies, or a craftsman building furniture, or a baker, you know, making food. So all these various endeavors of human may require a lot of effort, physical labor, even temporary, you know, struggle or exertion or strain or pain. But all these things we perceive as good, healthy, normal. And in fact, they help you become physically, mentally, emotionally strong. And without those achievements and exertions, uh, we would be lazy slobs, physically and mentally. It would be bad for us. You know, if we just had a life of luxury where we didn't do anything but eat and sleep and play games, you know, we would be emotionally unhealthy as well as physically unhealthy. So my point is work and achievement and even to some degree struggle overcoming uh adversity or obstacles is not necessarily the result of sin, but it was planned before. And so that also has implications for eternity. So sometimes you talk about eternal life with God, that's wonderful. But, you know, are we gonna be floating in crowd clouds? You know, we're gonna be angels playing harps uh all the time. That doesn't sound very exciting. So I don't know what eternity is gonna be like, but to me, I like to use, and I've stated this also in a past episode, but you know, when we look at our physical universe, they say one septillion stars, one one followed by 24 zeros. We can't even comprehend that number, and then how many planets? And so even our physical universe, we could spend eons exploring, creating, managing, uh, you know, and then who knows what else God has that goes beyond our physical universe or in the realm of the spirit or the angelic realm. So I do believe what's the most meaningful things in our lives right now? We would have to say our relationships and our accomplishments. So what makes it worthwhile to get up in the morning? Not just a paycheck, but your family, your friends, even co-workers and colleagues, uh, people that you respect and respect you, fellow ministers, fellow saints, church people, uh, and our relationship with God, of course, but it's our relationships that give meaning to our life. And so even when other things are not working out well, if we've got good, healthy relationships, family and friends, church people, then we can we can feel satisfied and joyful even when all kinds of things are going wrong. And then also work. I mean, yes, we have to work to live, and sometimes we do things we don't like to do because we need the money and we have to eat and survive. But really, we want the kind of job where we're thinking, we're creating, we're achieving, we're accomplishing, we're making a difference. We feel like we're making a difference to the church or for society or for other people, we're helping their lives to be better. You know, everybody has to feel like I've got a purpose in my work. Well, that's that doesn't come because of sin. So that was before sin. That's the way God created us to have meaning and purpose and achievement. And that will be after sin. And I think that will be in eternity. So the fact that we will work, it may sound counter to what you mean work in heaven, work in eternity? Well, what do you mean by work? I mean, the best work is something where, you know, I can't believe I get paid for doing something I like to do. I mean, it's work in the sense of effort, exertion mentally and physically, but it's enjoyment. And I think, I think that's a healthy concept of work. And so even Paul talks about this in the worst case scenario of slaves, which of course slavery is contrary to God's will. And when you really study Old Testament and especially the New Testament, we've talked about this before. Slavery is absolutely contrary to biblical principles and Christian teaching. However, the first century Christians live in a society where 30% of the population were slaves. And especially in the beginning, a disproportionate number of converts were slaves. So what do you do if you are a slave and now you're a Christian? Are you supposed to kill your master in the middle of the night? Are you supposed to try to rebel against the government and everybody gets slaughtered? And Paul says, no. And you see this in the epistles of Paul, uh, such as Ephesians and also uh uh Peter, that if you are in a situation where you are a servant, a household servant or or slave, not to justify that from a sec, you know, not from a theological point of view, but that's your life, well, do a good job. Work hard as a good example. Um, obey your masters, not because they deserved on you, because in this case in life, you're gonna be an example. And you may be able to win your master to the Lord and transform that relationship. And practically, if not legally, you you might gain your freedom. But it's not just for that. You're trying to win a soul and you're trying to grow the church and not hinder the church, not have the church destroyed. Well, but do a good job, not just as eye service, not just when people are looking, not just as men pleasers, just to do what's required for your master, but as unto the Lord. So even in the worst circumstances of a servant or a slave or you're an employee of a job that's drudgery that you're you hate, that you're forced to do, so to speak, he said, try to think of it, I'm serving the Lord, and I'm gonna do a good job. Whatever I do, I do with excellence, not just for other people to notice, but God notices. And not just for other people are around, but God's around. And doing that gives your life intrinsic value. No matter what forced you to do what you're doing, you can take a godly pride that you are working with excellence. You're working for God. And even though other people may be enslaving or abusing or controlling you in some degree, yet you have inner freedom because you're working for God. They might think they're forcing you to do whatever they want, but in your heart you can say, no, I'm working for God. And so that gives meaning even in the most miserable of existences, and potentially that's a pathway to freedom as well, because your employee or your even a slave owner may recognize those qualities and may change the way they treat you, may give you their freedom, may it may lead to a promotion, it may lead to a better job, may lead to a better opportunity. So there's a pragmatic component that if you do well and you seek excellence even the worst of circumstances, that's probably the most likely pathway out of that. But you're not just doing that for utilitarian reasons, you're doing that because you're a child of God. So I do think we need a much more healthy and robust uh theology of work that helps us give meaning to our lives here and now, regardless of our circumstances, and also give us a hope for an exciting future in the life to come.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Thank you for listening to this episode of Apostolic Life in the Twenty First Century. If you enjoy this podcast, please take a moment to give us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. We also appreciate it when you share apostolic life in the 21st century with a friend or family member. And make plans to join us again next time as we look at how the Bible applies to everyday life.