Stewardship Of WorkSample

Is Work The Result Of The Curse?

People often say that “work is a curse” as result of the fall in the Garden of Eden. But this is not true.

God established work before the fall. Genesis 1-2 gives us a record of how God created the world. The account tells how He placed Adam and Eve in a garden "to tend and keep it" (Gen. 2:15). This work assignment was given before sin entered the world and God pronounced the curse (Gen. 3). Obviously, then, work cannot be a result of the fall since people were working before the fall.

God also commends work even after the fall. If work were evil in and of itself, God would never encourage people to engage in it. But He does. For example, He told Noah and his family the same thing He told Adam and Eve-to have dominion over the earth (Gen. 9:1-7). In the New Testament, Christians are commanded to work (Col. 3:23; 1 Thess. 4:11).

We are created to be stewards of God’s creation through our work. Work is not a curse but a gift from God given to us.  By our work we employ useful skills to glorify God, love our neighbors and further God’s Kingdom. 

Tim Keller offers the following definition of work -   Rearranging the raw materials of a particular domain to draw out its potential for the flourishing of everyone. 

For example, an architect takes steel, wood, concrete, and glass and rearranges them for the flourishing of mankind.  A musician rearranges the raw material of sound to produce music.  That is what Adam was called to do in the garden, and that is what we are still called to do in our work today.

Work itself was not cursed in the fall. Gen. 3:17-19 shows that God cursed the ground as a result of Adam's sin-but not work: "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it" 

But the curse did affect work in at least three ways: (1) Work which was a joy, now became a "toil." People feel burdened down by it, and some even hate it. (2) "Thorns and thistles" would hamper people's efforts to exercise dominion. In other words, the earth would not be as cooperative as it had been. (3) People would have to "sweat" to accomplish their tasks. It was not going to be easy. Work would require enormous effort and energy.

Yes, the curse has affected work but far from calling it a curse, the Bible calls work and its fruit a gift from God (Eccl. 3:13; 5:18-19).

Quote: “There can be no joy in living without joy in work.” Thomas Aquinas 

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I would never view work as a curse, but as a gift from You. Amen