OceanSide church of Christ

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LABOR: 

One of the Secrets of Success

Victor M. Eskew

 

Labor Day became a federal holiday for federal employees in 1894.  However, prior to this date, thirty U.S. states celebrated Labor Day.  Two individuals have been credited for proposing a national day to celebrate all those who are part of the laboring classes in our nation.  Matthew Maguire, the Secretary of the CLU, and Peter J. McGuire, a vice-president of the American Federation of Labor, are the two individuals.  The first Monday is September was suggested because it fell mid-way between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.  Not only does the day celebrate the workers of our nation, but it also marks “the official end of summer.”

Tomorrow is Labor Day.  Many will be off.  They will get to sleep in.  They will be with their family and friends.  There will be cook-outs and picnics in the park.  Sadly, most will not take much time to contemplate the meaning of the day.  They will not truly celebrate the laborers of this great country in which we live. 

Dear readers, labor is one of the secrets to success in any endeavor.  Nations are built by labor.  Great cities are built by labor.  Businesses are built by labor.  Churches are built by labor.  Homes are built by labor.  If there is no labor, nothing would ever be accomplished.  We even enter into heaven by means of labor.  “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Heb. 4:12).  Labor is defined as “productive activity.”  It is also defined as “the exertion of the mind and body toward a goal.”  Some of the synonyms of labor are “activity, employment, energy, industry, job, diligence, effort, endeavor, exertion, push, pull, strain, struggle, sweat, and toil.”

            When man was put into the Garden of Eden, God put him there “to dress” the garden and “to keep it” (Gen. 2:15).  After Adam’s transgression, labor became difficult and strenuous.  “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:  cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…” (Gen. 3:17-19a).  Almost every man and woman living today understands the strain of labor.  Each one has put in some time wherein sweat equity was required.  We have come home at the end of the day, tired, dirty, and needing a good bath or shower.  Yes, we understand the meaning of “a hard day’s work.”

            Again, labor is one of the secrets to success.  Children often sing a song that contains these words:  “Good old Noah built the ark like God told him to.”  Noah was given these instructions by God:  “Make thee an ark of gopher wood:  rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.  And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of:  The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.  A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, and second, and third stories shalt thou make it” (Gen. 6:14-16).  Noah had a job on his hands.  Through great toil, he prepared the ark and saved himself and his family from the flood (Heb. 11:7).

            The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed when Babylon took the southern kingdom of Judah into captivity.  After the return of the Israelites, the walls continued to be broken down.  A man by the name of Nehemiah changed all of this.  With a vision and great zeal, he encouraged Israel to build the walls.  Two verses in the book of Nehemiah are pertinent to our study.  The first is Nehemiah 4:6.  “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof:  for the people had a mind to work.”  The second passage is also found in chapter four.  It is an interesting text because it shows how the labor of the children of Israel became much more difficult because of the opposition of their enemies.  “And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them, held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind the house of Judah.  They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.  For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded…” (Neh. 4:16-18a).  Israel did not rest when they went to work.  They, like Noah, were successful in their endeavors.  “So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days” (Neh. 6:15).

            Paul was also a builder.  That which he sought to build was the precious temple of God, the church.  He writes about his labors in I Corinthians 3:10.  “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon…”  Notice that Paul refers to himself as “a wise masterbuilder.”  Paul knew that his endeavors as an evangelist were building the spiritual temple of God.  He worked diligently to add living stones to that holy structure.  In I Corinthians 15:10, he says:  “…but I labored more abundantly than they all:  yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”  Many people became Christians because of Paul’s efforts.  Many churches were established among the Gentiles because of his tireless labors among them.  He was successful because he worked.

            Yes, labor is one of the secrets to success.  If there is no success, one might ask:  “How much labor is really being put into the endeavor?”  There are so many things in our world that we enjoy that are the result of the labors of others.  Let’s give thanks for them.  Too, let continue to develop a will that puts both heart and hands to the task at hand in order to bring success to our endeavors.  Let’s all keep in mind the exhortation of the old hymn by Fannie J. Crosby:  “To the work!  To the work!  We are servants of God, Let us follow the path that our Master has trod.  With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew, Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.  Toiling one, toiling on, toiling on, toiling on; Let us hope, let us watch, And labor till the Master comes.”  Enjoy your Labor Day!  Give thanks to all who have worked to make our nation so great and prosperous.  Give yourself a little pat on the back if you are one of those hard workers.  Thank you for your toil.