It is God’s gift to take pleasure in all our toil
(Labour Day)
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What gain have the workers from their toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. 11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
The opening verses of this passage are well-known, read at funerals, turned into a song by the band “The Byrds”. They point to a rhythm in life – notice how much of that rhythm is also about work. Planting and unplanting; breaking down and building up; tearing and sewing. Even the more emotionally connected rhythms involve work – weeping and laughing are both actions, we talk about grief work; war and peace are both hard work. The opening words remind us that to be human is to have work to do – to have toil (vs. 9).
On the surface such a statement appears discouraging, even depressing. Especially when the author connects work with “gain” (vs. 9) – what kind of gain is meant – financial? self-esteem?... The author takes the conversation a surprising direction – the path to being happy and enjoying life is to gratefully receive God’s gift of being able to eat and drink and take pleasure in the work one has to do. Work is an essential, even necessary, part of life, just as eating and drinking are. Having something to do is part of what it means to be human – the work in view is wider than just work for pay. We need something to do, it is part of having a happy life.
Having work to do is a good thing and we should give thanks to God for the work God puts before us to do. The work of everything that fits into a life between being born and dying. The call is to take the work we are given at different moments in our lives and live deeply into it, seeing this toil as a gift from God. Even though we don’t know the end from the beginning, we work with God who does know the end from the beginning – and he has invited us to join him in his work.
PRAYER:
On this Labour Day we thank you, O Lord, for the food and drink you provide – we thank you as well for the work you give to use to do. We rejoice in the joy that having something to do bring sot our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.