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Fighting the Fall
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After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God indicated what the consequences would be. The consequences for Adam give us particular insights into how the nature of work was marred by the Fall. While work was a delight before, now it would be frustrating.
Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
Genesis 3:17-19
Work is not a consequence of the Fall, but frustration in work is a consequence of the Fall. Adam and Eve are kicked out of the Garden of Eden, and the world they come to tend to is not the cooperative world of the Garden. The outside world now resists them. For Adam, in particular, the earth resists his attempts to cultivate the ground.
Dr. Steve Lennox does not shy away from telling us that our work will never be completely free of frustration on this side of eternity. Christ has set in motion the complete restoration and consummation of the world, but that healing work is only partially put in place. To some extent, we will continue to fight the effects of the Fall until Jesus returns.
God does not forbid us from inventing combines and technology to help with farming. The consequences of Genesis 3 are now more descriptive of our situation than prescriptive. Women are free to take medication to make childbearing less painful. Christ can heal the relationship between husband and wife so that he does not dominate her, and their relationship is not one of constant contention.
Yet our situation is far from hopeless! Indeed, “in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). We can steward the work that God has given us here and now.
The Parable of the Talents
The Parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30, offers profound insights into the nature of work and responsibility. The parable describes a master who entrusts his property to his servants before leaving on a journey. Each servant receives a different number of “talents” according to their ability. A talent was a very large amount of money in Jesus’ day. When the master returns, he assesses what each servant has done with the money he gave them.
When he returns, the servants who actively invested their talents and generated a return are praised. Meanwhile, the servant who buried the talent is thrown into outer darkness. God expects us to use what he has given us for good, not simply to keep it for him. This is a parable for our work. God expects us to use the “tools” he has given us, as Lennox puts it.
The parable also underscores the principle of stewardship. The talents are not the servants’ own, but are entrusted to them by their master. Similarly, our skills, resources, and opportunities are not our own. They are entrusted to us by God. We are responsible for using them wisely and productively, not just for our own benefit but also for the benefit of others and the world.
The importance of accountability also comes through in the parable. Each servant is eventually called to account for how they have managed what God entrusted to them. This aspect of the parable reinforces the fact that God wants us to do our best at work as well as in church.
John Wesley on Money
John Wesley (1703-91) had some very helpful thoughts on the attitude that Christians might take toward money, which, of course, normally results from fruitful labor. The saying that best encapsulates his philosophy is “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” It comes from his sermon on “The Use of Money.” This short maxim is a good application of Scriptural principles to money.
“Earn all you can” for Wesley was not about greed but was a call to being industrious. We use our talents and opportunities. We work hard. Wesley had no thought about accumulating wealth for its own sake. Rather, earning all you can has to do with the principle of working hard and then contributing to others. Earning money is a worthwhile endeavor when done legally and ethically, without causing harm to your health or moral integrity.
For Wesley, “save all you can” was not about hoarding resources or wealth. “Save,” in this case, is about being frugal. We are wise and thoughtful in managing our resources. Wesley understood that uncontrolled spending and a lack of savings could lead to personal financial crises and an inability to help others. He is advocating for a disciplined approach to money. We avoid unnecessary expenses and live within our means.
Most of the negative passages in Scripture toward wealth have to do with hoarding. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19). Wesley did not advocate for that kind of saving. Rather, we do not waste God’s resources that he has given us to steward.
Finally, “Give all you can” is perhaps the most important part of Wesley's maxim, for this instruction highlights the purpose of the first two. It reflects the Christian duty of charity and the belief that wealth is a gift to be shared. It is not ours merely for our personal comfort and security.It is a reminder that the ultimate use of financial resources should be to serve others and advance the common good. This principle challenges the notion of wealth as an end in itself and places it in the context of community and service.
The maxim to give all we can is a reminder that God owns it all. It is not our money. We are not working for ourselves but to glorify God. For this reason, the resources we earn must also be shared with others and the good of the world.