God at Work

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

THE NATURE OF GOD IN HIS WORK

The opening act in God’s divine play finds God at work.

On Day 1 He went to work and made light and separated it from darkness. On Day 2 He went to work and made the sky. On Day 3 He went to work and made land, seas, oceans, plants, trees, and all kinds of vegetation. On Day 4 He went to work and made planets, moons, the sun, and the physics which keep them in order. On Day 5 He went to work and made fish and birds. On Day 6 He went to work and made livestock, reptiles, wild animals and us. On Day 7 He rested. Not a bad week’s work.

Those are the outcomes, and they are magnificent. His Creation is so overwhelmingly magnificent that man has no excuse for ignoring God because Who He is is written in His creation (Romans 1:20); in His work.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20, NIV)

It should be obvious to the sound mind that light, sky, land, seas, plants, planets, animals, and humanity did not come about without a grand design and a grand Creator. And, just like God’s nature is revealed in and through His work, it is the same with us. Our nature and character is revealed in and through our work. What does my work say about who I am? Does my work reflect the nature and character of God?

GOD'S WAY TO WORK

Another very profound demonstration in the Bible’s opening scene is God’s way to work.

God’s work was and is carried out in perfect sequence; one creative development at a time with no waste; each creation exquisitely dependent upon the other. In business lingo we might call that good process. Evidently God is process oriented.

God’s work was and is carried out with both excellence and benevolence. At the completion of each day’s work, He said that the work was very good (Genesis 1:3). “Good” in this context means both made with excellence AND made for the good and blessing of man. Today we might say the work was six sigma quality and benevolent, or that the work delivered form and function simultaneously.

God’s work was and is carried out with unparalleled creativity. He even created creativity itself and manifested it in millions of species of animals and plants, uncountable numbers of stars, and us humans. Today we might call that innovation.

God’s work was carried out with genius logic. Three hundred sixty-five days in a year. Seven days in a week. Twenty-four hours in a day. Sixty minutes in an hour. Sixty seconds in a minute. That cadence is the foundation for all planning and scheduling. Imagine the chaos if…. Years had random numbers of days. Weeks had random numbers of days. Days had random numbers of hours. Hours had random numbers of minutes. Minutes had random numbers of seconds. The genius of the logic and construct of macro and micro time is difficult to fathom. (Not surprisingly, the root word for “logic” is “logos”; meaning The Word of God. And since God literally spoke Creation into existence, the Words He spoke infused Creation with the supernatural genius of His logic.)

God was and is productive; exceedingly productive and efficient. He made the universe in six days, literally making everything out of nothing in 144 hours; talk about productivity and resource efficiency.

God’s work was followed by reflection and rest. At the end of the sixth and final day of work, God reflected and deemed the results “very good”. He rested at the end of each day, and He rested the seventh day. Today we might say He had a good work-life balance.

Process oriented. Logical. Productive. Efficient. Effective. Six Sigma. Innovative. Benevolent. Excellence. Form and function. Purpose Driven. Work-Life Balance. Sound familiar? Yes, these are the same names given to the ways of workplace champions.

If you ever wondered why these business principles work and the companies who implement them succeed, it’s because they are following God’s design for work; and He blesses it. They are God’s best practices for business and work. It’s like those ways of working have magnets attached to them attracting the blessing and favor of God.

WHY GOD PRIORITIZES WORK

As I pondered Genesis 1, I found myself asking, “Of all the things God could have started the Bible with, why Him working?” Interestingly, the first thing God speaks to man (Genesis 1:28) is an exhortation to work, exhorting us to be fruitful, to increase, and to fill and manage the earth. Of all the things God could have started His conversation with man with, why is it an exhortation about work? In reading even further, we find the very first infilling of a man by the Spirit of God is related to work.

In Exodus (Exodus 31:1-6), God fills a man named Bezalel with the Holy Spirit’s supernatural giftings of ability, intelligence, knowledge, and craftsmanship for the work of building God’s tent of meeting. Of all the things God could have first filled a man with the Holy Spirit for, why was the filling for work?

It can’t be a coincidence that of all the things God could have started His Word with, began His conversation with man with, and launched the first Holy Spirit infilling of a man with focused on work. God does not speak in random order, but with purpose.

Why this emphasis on work? Whatever the reason, it is not a coincidence. What could the reason be?

Perhaps it is because we need to remember Who did the original creating and Who gives us the ability to create. God has a strong warning for those who forget.

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 8:17-20, NIV)

Perhaps He spoke first about work because He knew that other than sleeping in our beds, we would spend more time at work than any other place doing any other thing, and that workplace culture would have a tremendous impact on our personal character, culture, personality, health, and family.

Perhaps He knew that a dysfunctional workplace can do as much damage as a dysfunctional family and/or reinforce the damage done by a dysfunctional family. People are often drawn to the level and type of dysfunction they were raised in; because it feels familiar. A healthy workplace should help people overcome the damage done by dysfunctional families; not reinforce it.

Perhaps He spoke first about work because He knew that our temptation would be to become lazy and entitled. Much of contemporary culture promotes idleness. Socialism and Communism wind up disincentivizing work. Some demonic paradigms like the “lay down” culture go so far as to promote literally laying down all day. Yet, God is very clear in His blessing on hard work and His disapproval of laziness.

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23, NIV) “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10b, NIV)

Perhaps He spoke first about work because He knew that the workplace would be an important battle ground for the minds and souls of men and women.

Perhaps He spoke first about work because He knew we would be tempted to leave Him out of the workplace, as has happened in countless Godless workplaces.

Whatever the reason, He chose work to be the very first topic to address with us. Instead of ignoring God at work, whether that’s in a factory, a home, a school, a kitchen, a warehouse, an office, a battlefield, a store, a hospital, a truck, or wherever your work may be, I believe part of what He was and is imploring us to do is to invite Him into our workplace and to imitate Him in our work.

PRAYER

Abba Father. Thank You for the way You work. Please forgive me for any time or way I have violated your principles of work. Please come into my workplace and come into me and transform my workplace and my work ways to imitate the way You work. Amen in The Name of Jesus.

REFERENCE VERSES

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31, NIV)

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20, NIV)

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)

The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you. (Exodus 31:1-6, ESV)