Unemployed continued....
WORK AS A PART OF LIFE
The wheels of industry must turn, the fields must be
ploughed, and transport must function in our highly mobile society, and to
perform all this we need a work-force. Some will be in executive positions,
others in quiet and even menial tasks, and even if the national lottery makes a
lot of people millionares, workers will still be needed to produce and supply
the requirements of those affluent individuals.
Actually, the Bible shows that the All-wise Creator designed
a world in which work was necessary. The 4th commandment given to Moses envisaged full
employment with a six-day working week and a seventh-day rest. The ruling also
included a rest for the animals too, so the health and well-being of both were
safeguarded. It also protected the workers from any inconsiderate employers.
The New Testament, although viewed primarily as a spiritual
document ie showing man's need of God and how to be reconciled to Him, it does take
up the theme of work. The subject is particularly relevant because when Jesus,
God's son came to earth He was a manual worker employed in carpentry (and He's
still looking for 'joiners'!).
The New Testament actually gives an industrial charter, and
it first points out that work is incumbent upon us all. It pulls no punches
with the work-shy. It states that 'if any would not work neither shall he
eat'. This
of course is addressed to the lazy, the spongers and the irresponsible, not to
the disabled or those who for no fault of their own cannot find work.
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