Exodus 5:10-11
So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, I am not going to give you any straw. You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.”
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It is not unusual for many, many Christians to spend far, far more time at work than at church! So it is also not unusual or a surprise that the devil, a serpent who goes around like a roaring lion {1Pt.5:8} would attack believers in the workplace.
Just as the Pharaoh of Egypt did so long ago, trying to insure that the Hebrews would not pay attention to the Word of God coming through Moses and Aaron, {Ex.5:9} Satan today does not want the disciples of Jesus having a focus on the Word! That old devil is much safer if he can keep real faith confined to a church building. That stupid old enemy does not realize, unfortunately like all too many Christians, that we ARE the building of God—the temple of the Holy Spirit.
And of course, we are to do whatever we do—be it butcher or baker or candlestick maker (or banker or doctor, electrician, etc., etc.} —whatever we do, we are to do as unto the Lord! {Col.3:23} We cannot leave our faith at the door of the building! The bible is the Manufacturer's Handbook, instructing us on how we are to live every part of our lives. Just as the apostle Peter wrote that the Lord has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. {2Pt.1:3} Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would have you whistle while you work, but I know that we are called to pray and rejoice while we work!
If you are an employer, don’t worry. All of this is not an excuse for your Christian worker to slack off, rather, that man or woman who works for you has been commanded by God to do whatever they do, they are to do with all of their might. {Ecc.9:10} Jesus Himself the adopted son of a carpenter was trained and worked as a carpenter.
He would have worked with wood, hammer and nails, building and repairing, doing it all for Joseph, and of course as unto His heavenly Father right up until the time He went up a little hill called Golgotha. It was there that He did all, gave all, to build His church {Mat.16:18} and to re-pair us with the Father with the wood of the cross and the hammer and the nails that were used to fulfill His ministry, to do His work!
A bit of an aside: I have heard many ‘scholarly’ people debate whether or not the nails used to hold Jesus to the cross were placed in His hands or in His wrists. A silly argument indeed! It was not the nails that held Jesus to that cross—it was God's love!
When Peter moved with his sword to protect Jesus:
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?’” (Matthew 26:52-54)
THE LORD’S WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OURS |
