WHAT ARE YOU WORKING FOR?

It's Labor Day Weekend! The persons who have been and currently are in the Labor Force are the economical backbone of the Free World! In America, we're blessed to have men and women who propel this country to strength and greatness through their work. Farmers, carpenters, truckers, mechanics, sales people, nurses, doctors, secretaries, accountants and bookkeepers, teachers, loggers, custodians, care-givers, engineers, business owners, military forces, factory workers, electricians, all those who are in the many facets of construction, welders, governmental workers, police officers, fire fighters, first responders, medical technicians, web services representatives, travel agents, customer service representatives, the media personnel, and a myriad of others, too many to list, are the Free World's and America's greatest resource for economic sanity and stability! As I write this blog and reflect on what Labor Day celebrates, it is my honor, along with so many others, to commend and thank you all for your immeasurable contributions; we are grateful for you!

If you are a certain age you may remember The Dobie Gillis Show (one of my favorites). You may recall Dobie's friend Maynard (played by Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island fame). His attitude toward work . . . as he gave this response (when anyone suggested a job), with his eyes bugging out, in a high pitched voice . . . "WORK?" as if it was a very foreign concept. On the other hand I would like us to look at Jesus' teaching about work.

It has been a very long day for Jesus and His disciples; they have worked hard again on this day; no day off, no rest and no vacation! The Apostle John talked about the events of the day. Jesus was busy healing the sick and thus great crowds followed Him and pressed in upon Him and His followers. Toward the close of the day, Jesus saw the large crowd in need of food. Taking just five barley loaves of bread and two small fish, He blessed and broke them into pieces and had the disciples serve the crowd. 5,000 men besides the women and children were fed and were full, with 12 baskets of left-overs gathered up. As evening progressed, the disciples left the scene by boat. Encountering a significant storm on the lake, they saw Jesus approaching them walking on the water. Then, a large crowd met them on the other side of the lake. With kindness and sensitivity

Jesus said to this crowd of people who had been miraculously fed, now seeking to find Him, "Truly I say to you, you seek Me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" (John 6:26). This brings us to our text for this writing, for Jesus continued with these words, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man (Jesus) will give you" (John 6:27).

Let me digress here for just some comments. It is vitally important to seek Jesus! The Bible says, "If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me" (Jeremiah 29:13). But like this crowd, many today seek Jesus for the wrong reason. It is common to give Jesus some consideration for the satisfaction of our human desires. Those who give Jesus some thought may say, "What's in it for me?" "What does Jesus promise me?" "Can I still control my own life?" Motivated by "food" (finding satisfaction of our fleshly desires), some care more about this than they do about gaining a clear understanding of spiritual life, values and the Biblical Truths that lead to eternal life!

Knowing this, Jesus told them not to work for the food that only results in temporal blessing, but to work for that which results in eternal life. These words from Jesus actually focus on the distinction between temporary, earthly, humanistic pursuits and the spiritual pursuit for eternal life found ONLY through personal faith in Jesus Christ! We thus are strongly urged to shift our focus from material desires and transient accomplishments to a life squarely centered on Jesus, who is the true, enduring nourishment for our soul.

Throughout Scripture, we see that Jesus did not degrade or dismiss physical labor, working hard at our jobs to secure a living for ourselves and our families. Work or labor is always commended in God's Word! Here are a few examples taken from the Bible.

1) Exodus 20:9 - "Six days you shall labor and do all your work."

2) I Thessalonians 4:11 - ". . .and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you."

3) II Thessalonians 3:8 and 10 - ". . .nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so we would not be a burden to any of you. . . ."

. . .we gave you this order: If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."

4) Ephesians 4:28 - "He who stole must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need."

5) Genesis 1:28 - "And God said to them (Adam and Eve), 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' " Note this, they were commanded by God to SUBDUE the earth and RULE over created creatures. You can't subdue and rule without work! Sin did not cause work and work did not bring sin into existence! Work was commanded by God, blessed and hallowed by God, to be a blessing, inspiration and joy to mankind. Work only became a hardship as a result of Adam and Eve disobeying God (See Genesis 3:17-18).

Jesus gave a two-fold command regarding work as He spoke to that huge crowd that followed Him. He said, "Labor Not. . .but Labor For. . ." Let's break down the principles of these commands using a list to describe the impact of both.

1) "LABOR NOT" -----John 6:27

a) "for the meat that perishes."

b) He did not mean that we are not to work to earn money to live on.

c) He DID mean that we are NOT to give all our attention, effort, energy, time and resources to obtaining the things in life that only end up perishing because they are temporal, material and worthless in eternity! As the old saying goes, "we cannot take any of it with us when we die!"

d) Jesus emphasized that we are not to let the things we can't keep sap all our strength and energy. Jim Elliot, one of the missionaries killed by the Auca Natives in Ecuador, said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

e) We are NOT to become absorbed with "the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things that put a choke-hold on the Word of God" (Mark 4:19).

2) "LABOR FOR" -----John 6:27

a) "The meat that endures to eternal life."

b) This means to put the majority of your efforts into your spiritual life; demonstrate your deep concern about your spiritual development and growth!

c) Each of us, as followers of Jesus, must put our greatest attention on the lasting qualities of life; seeking GOD'S BEST!

d) We should be internally working for the things that result in eternal life!

1) "Believe on Him (Jesus) whom God has sent" (John 6:29).

2) "Seek the Bread Of Life (Jesus) who gives eternal life to the world" (John 6:33-35).

Let us not seek the miracle, but let us earnestly seek The ONE who performed the miracle - not the manna (provided in the wilderness) or the bread and fish that perishes, BUT the BREAD OF LIFE HIMSELF!

Looking into this Scriptural Truth begs the questions: Have we been holding on to and working primarily for what we can not keep? Are we ready to commit ourselves to working first and foremost for the lasting things that truly result in eternal life?

I am quite confident that we all need to refocus our attention, attitude, priorities and object of our work! Jesus rebuked the crowd for seeking the materialistic fulfillment of life rather than the profound priority of the Messianic Kingdom. Let's be sure to labor most earnestly for the purpose of "gaining what we can never lose."