STEWARDSHIP AND WORK 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-13 November 14, 2010 Consider today's lectionary lesson from the Epistle. It deals with the problem of idleness. St. Paul says:"if anyone will not work, let them not eat". Sounds like good sense! Sounds too easy! TO TELL THE TRUTH, THOUGH, I DON'T Run Into Too Many IDLE PEOPLE. I know such people do exist. (But there usually not here, so I am preaching to the choir so to speak!) I read a story about a fellow who was employed by a duke and duchess in Europe.
Page 2 "James," said the duchess to this employee, "how long have you been with us?" "About thirty years" James said. "According to my records," said the duchess, "you were employed to look after the dog." "Yes, Ma'am," James replied. "James that dog died twenty seven years ago." "Yes, ma'am." he said "What would you like me to do now?" Perhaps you know somebody like that. They're around. But not many are here this morning. Some of our inactive members, perhaps. But they will eventually be removed to our inactive membership rolls. Some of them will tell you that they should be kept on the rolls. If I had my way we would determine membership by who shows up at church!
Page 3 I wonder about folks who say they are too busy to make it to church. (I wonder where their priorities are.) Do you recognize anybody like that? Since work (whether you work inside or outside the home or are retired) should be an important part of our lives, perhaps we ought to spend a few moments this morning thinking about the spiritual significance of work. Don't worry. I am not going to spend this morning preaching on the Protestant Puritan work ethic. (With all due respect to the pilgrims!) I'm told that the Reverend Sir George Macleod, founder of the Iona Community in Scotland, undertook the cleaning out of the toilets during the community work period.
Page 4 When someone asked Dr. Macleod why he chose such an undesirable task, he retorted, "It's to prevent me from preaching sermons on the dignity of work." Not everyone in this room has satisfying, uplifting work. Somebody has to clean toilets. No, my aim is not to glorify work, but to understand its role in God's plan for our lives. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO WORK. The Genesis story said even Adam and Eve had responsibilities in the Garden of Eden. For most of humanity work has been essential for survival. There was no choice. There is no free lunch. I don't know if that sentence contains the entire world's wisdom, but it is a start. Few things in life are free.
Page 5 Be careful if anybody tells you otherwise. I remember reading about a couple who lived in a plush penthouse in New York City. One day in the mail they received two free tickets... to a smash Broadway show from an unknown source. They were thrilled. Who among their friends could have been so generous or so thoughtful? They didn't know, but the tickets were for that night and they were not going to ask too many questions. When they returned to their penthouse later that night after a grand time at the theater they were shocked to find their home ransacked, and everything of value gone-- a mink, diamonds, their silver, their electronics, everything! On the dining room table was a note: NOW YOU KNOW.
Page 6 There is not much in life that is free. Most of us have to work. That is the first thing to be said. Here is the second. WORK IS NOT ONLY ESSENTIAL TO OUR PHYSICAL SURVIVAL. IT IS ALSO ESSENTIAL TO OUR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING. As someone once said, "Work you enjoy is the best guarantee you can find for a long, happy, and healthy life." One summer evening, when Thomas Edison returned home from work, his wife said, "You've worked too long without a rest. You must take a vacation." "But where will I go?" he asked. "Decide where you'd rather be than anywhere else on earth and go there," was the answer. "Very well, promised Mr. Edison, "I will go tomorrow." The next morning Edison returned to his laboratory.
Page 7 Some people feel that way about their work. They are not workaholics. They are not there because they are driven. They actually enjoy their work more than anything else. We can't all have jobs we enjoy. But even the most ordinary and hum-drum of jobs is generally better for us than idleness. Rest is valuable only so far as it is a contrast. Pursued as an end, it becomes a most pitiable condition. Ask anyone who has ever spent much time unemployed. It's no fun. Sociologists tell us that unemployment has very high social costs. Most politicians would agree. So do people in law enforcement.
Page 8 Each time the unemployment rate increases by a single percentage point, suicides rise by 4 percent, murders by 5.7 percent, prison populations by 4 percent;... and deaths from tension related illnesses by 1.9 percent. Work is part of God's plan not only for our physical survival but also for our mental and emotional well-being. God created us in God's own image. God is a creating, sustaining, working God. Jesus said in St. John 5: 17, "(GOD) is working still and I am working." This brings us to the final thing to be said. WORK IS ONLY ULTIMATELY MEANINGFUL WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR LIVES ARE PART OF A GREATER PLAN THAT GOD IS YET TO REVEAL. How we view our work is ultimately a religious question.
Page 9 If we view life as meaningful, purposeful, and having direction, then we will probably view our work as having rhyme and reason as well. If, however, life is simply a matter of passing time, getting by, merely existing, then it is doubtful that we will get excited by the roles we play in life. It can be a terrific thing to be a farmer or a teacher or a truck driver or a physicist or in business if we understand where our lives fit in to God's overall scheme of things. The farmer provides food, the teacher helps transform young minds, the truck driver transports needed goods, the physicist unlocks the secrets of the universe, and the business person brings commerce into the community to improve the quality of life.
Page 10 Each of us has a place in God's plan for the world. A French criminologist named Emile Locard came up with an idea which he called Locard's Exchange Principle. It says something to the effect that any person passing through a room will unknowingly deposit something there and take something away. That is true of life. Each of us is leaving something here and taking something away. We are a part of an overall purpose the purpose of the living God. Work is part of that purpose. We are co creators with God. We have a privilege that goes beyond simply survival.
Page 11 We are partners with our Creator in the stewardship of Earth's resources and in supplying the needs of God's children. That is why few of us are idle. That is why few of us resent our jobs. We know our lives and our work have value and we are thankful for the opportunity to do our part. AMEN!