Our "Work" Must Make A Difference!

This post was inspired by my devotions this morning which happend to coincide with some thoughts that had been running through my head.

In the Biblical view, work means much more than what we do for money or personal gain. In the Bible, work, as J.I Packer puts it, "means any exertion of effort that aims at producing a new state of affairs. Such exertions involve our creativity which needs to be harnessed and expressed in action if our nature is to be properly fulfilled." In other words what Packer is saying is that true work, in the biblical sense, is something that is action focussed and brings change in the status quo. For example, activities such as homemaking, changing the oil in a car, trimming a shrub, answering an email, or practicing or studying for a test or performance would all Biblically be considered work. Whereas, on the flipside, philosophizing in the shower to express your feelings of euphoria due to the hot water would not, no matter how much effort you put in, be considered work in the true Biblical sense. Now, I don't personally have anything against philosophy or philosophizing in general, but when people ask themselves questions for which there really is no point in asking and only lead to more confusion when asked, then I do have a problem. Our "work" springs forth, inevitably, form our creativity. Whatever our creative gifts may be we must learn to harness them, as nothing should be allowed to run wild and be taken to an extreme. The significance of all this is: Work in the Biblical sense is always goal-oriented; it is action with an end in view.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going." Ecc. 9:10