One way Christians keep the Sabbath day holy is by resting on the seventh day of the week (Exodus 20:8). But what are we resting from? Notice the other half of the Fourth Commandment: “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work” (verse 9). God commands that we labor and do all our work in six days! This is not a suggestion, it is a command—and it’s just as important as the Sabbath half of the command. In fact, the harder we work, the more we will get out of the Sabbath.

God gave the Sabbath command to mankind in order to keep us in a right relationship with our Maker and to point us back to creation (verse 11). God is a creator who works for a living, and His purpose is to reproduce Himself through man. As God’s children, we must be willing to labor and work like the Father does. Lesson 55 of the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course says, “The spirit or intent of this law shows that a man is normally expected to keep busily engaged in gainful work during the first six days of the week.”

When Adam was first created, God placed him in the Garden of Eden and commanded him “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). “Dress it” here also means to labor, to work—and, by implication, it means to serve as a bondman or to be a slave of labor.

In order for Adam to make bread, he had to till the ground, plant the seeds, and labor to bring them to harvest. After the harvest, there was still the milling, kneading and baking involved to make the bread.

God could have arranged some other, less labor-intensive way—where we were designed to live on air only or by eating the soil, like an earthworm. But He wanted us to work for our food!

We must remember that there is nothing negative about God’s instruction. God commands men to work, and to work hard—but it is not some kind of punishment or sentence.

Submitting to this command actually makes man truly happy and content because it keeps us in a right relationship with God. It keeps us active, working and producing—just like God!

Even when God rained manna down from heaven directly into the Israelites’ camp, it wasn’t as easy as picking up bread off the ground and eating it. The Bible says it came in the form of tiny seeds, and they had to go out and gather it up every day, grind it in mills, beat it into dough, and bake it in pans to make cakes (Exodus 16).

They weren’t allowed to store up large quantities and make a bunch of bread all at once; God specifically commanded them to gather a certain amount every day except Friday, when they were to gather enough for the Sabbath day as well (verses 16-19). If they tried to keep it overnight on any other day, the manna would spoil.

It was a test commandment, God said, and notice what part of the test they failed: “Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them” (verse 20).

They wanted to make extra so that they wouldn’t have to work the next day! Failing the test involved their refusal to work on the other six days!

The Work Ethic of a Christian

In the Bible there are about 900 references to employment and work habits. It is God’s nature to work diligently, and He wants us to be just like Him. God is a workman who is always on the job. And that’s the way He wants us to be—both men and women.

Human nature wants to be lazy, but a true Christian ought to be a diligent, hard worker (1 Timothy 5:8). Hard work is one of the evidences of a true Christian! In John 5:17, Christ said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” It is every man’s responsibility to provide for himself—and especially for those of his own house.

For married women who are not employed outside the home, this godly work ethic should be applied with diligence in the home.

Many successful people recognize these New Testament principles. They see clearly that one who does not produce any wealth for society should not have any himself.

Henry Ford wrote in his book My Life and Work: “There is no reason why a man who is willing to work should not be able to work and to receive the full value of his work. There is equally no reason why a man who can but will not work should not receive the full value of his services to the community …. If he contributes nothing he should take nothing away. He [the sluggard] should have the freedom of starvation.”

In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 we find another command that if any do not work, they should not eat. Under the inspiration of God, Paul forbids Christians to be slothful (see also Romans 12:11). In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said that hard work is the only sure—and godly—way to avoid poverty (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

These scriptures show that it is not God’s will that we give handouts to lazy dropouts or able-bodied persons who will not work. If there are those who refuse to work, who are indolent and lazy, others are expressly forbidden to give them money or food or any kind of assistance which they otherwise could acquire on their own by working.

The New Testament apostles encountered numerous “spongers” who tried to take advantage of other brethren in the Church. Instead of working and providing for their own households as commanded, they became a burden to the Church.

If you don’t currently have a job, first, realize your primary job is to get a job. Do not be lazy in your search. The correspondence course reads, “Get up early in the morning—consistently—and start out either arranging interviews, or pounding the pavement early every morning, and don’t quit until you’ve put in a full day’s work looking for work!” (op. cit.).

Simply obtaining a job is not where exhibiting godly work ethic ends. As an employee, we must work hard, just as God does. Colossians 3:22 says, “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God” (see also Ephesians 6:5-6).

“Not with eyeservice” means we can’t just look busy when the boss comes around. This is “sight labor.” What are you doing when he is away?

We are responsible to God to work hard, not just our physical boss. A good employee constantly feels pressure from Christ (Colossians 3:23). Verse 24 indicates even the service we give our physical bosses is to be considered as service rendered to God.

Matthew 5:48 reminds us of our end goal in all of this: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 adds this admonition: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

Notice it doesn’t say “whatsoever you are good at” or “whatsoever you like to do, do with all your might.” It says “whatsoever your hand finds to do ….” Not being good at something is no excuse for laziness—it actually means you must push yourself harder because of it.

Shall Find So Doing

In John 9:4, Christ says, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” We know time is short before Christ returns. But instead of that being a hindrance to our work, it ought to serve as a prod to work harder!

In Matthew 24:46, Christ says His faithful servants will be the ones who are found working and building right up until His arrival! God doesn’t want us to just sit around and wait for His return. He wants us to continue working and building—both physically and spiritually.

That is the way of a true Christian!