In Genesis 2:15, Scripture tells us that God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. This is a vital part of understanding that we were created by God to be people who work. The Fall of humanity had not occurred yet, and still God desired for the prize of His creation to be busy with work.
Since the Fall, work has become toil and hardship (Genesis 3:17-19) but that does not mean that it is an evil thing that was brought about because of our sin. Work is good and work is a blessing filled opportunity that God has given us to serve Him. Within this paper I will argue that (1) work is Scripturally a righteous thing that we should embrace and not attempt to avoid, (2) God intends work to be an avenue of spiritual development for us and as an act of worship by us as faithful servants, (3) the avoidance or neglect of this work has always been disciplined by God most severely.
The Apostle Paul emphasizes the spiritual aspect of work when commanding the Thessalonians not to feed those who are unwilling to work (2 Thessalonians 3:10) and tells Timothy that those who do not work to provide for their families are worse than unbelievers (1 Timothy 5:8). While the concept of work as worship and spiritual formation has been written about many times, the aim of this paper is to show that such work is necessary for the spiritual formation as a believer. Included in this discussion will be the false normality of retirement from the Christian life that continues to plague churches. There is no such allowance for retirement given by God and the neglect of work as worship is a false idol that is becoming more prevalent within the church.