Dad, Why Do You Work?

Note: This is part of an ongoing series on teaching biblical stewardship to our children.

            “Dad, why do you work?”

            This is the question that both of my children have asked recently. As my wife and I teach our children about biblical stewardship, the kids wonder where the money comes from and why. This is a great question for my kids to ask, because it is the starting point for a discussion on stewardship. Have you ever thought about the question? Do you know what you would answer if your child asks this question?

            God has instilled within us the desire to work. It is part of the fabric of our beings. We want to accomplish tasks. We want to leave this world differently than we entered it. We want to construct on a piece of bare land, and leave a mark that says, “I was here. I mattered. I brought change to this once-barren place.” God gave us that desire.

            At the dawn of humankind, when God created Adam, He gave Adam a purpose. Adam had a job to do. Adam was to steward the Garden of Eden. He was to name the animals. After the Fall, Adam still worked, but his toil brought sweat to his brow. Some will say that work is a result of the Fall, but that is not true, work came before the Fall.

            Throughout the Bible, we see examples of people who labor with a purpose. Abraham prospers in such a way that he must separate from his nephew since their flocks become too numerous. Jacob works without complaint to win the hand of Rachel. Joseph uses his administrative prowess to prepare the Egyptians for a coming famine, and to feed them during that seven-year famine. Nehemiah builds a wall around Jerusalem. Solomon builds a temple for God. Jeremiah and Baruch are given the words of God to record. Peter, James, and John fish, and become fishers of men. Paul travels as a missionary, moonlighting as a tentmaker to pay his way. Lydia dies cloth. The list is endless.

            The Bible also instructs us as to the value of work. Proverbs is filled with truth about the diligent worker and the folly of the lazy person. The Proverbs 31 woman is an industrious businesswoman. Peter warns that elders exercise oversight over the church willingly, not under compulsion. Paul warns that one who does not work shall not share in the food of the believers (2 Thessalonians 3:10). And Paul tells Timothy that the man who cannot provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever.

            So, I answer my children by telling them that I work because God has given me the desire and the ability to do so. I work because I want to honor Him by diligent labor. I work because to avoid work is displeasing to the Lord. I work because I do not expect someone else to take care of me or feel entitled to a share of something to which I did not contribute.

            I also want to teach my children that, while these are some of the reasons why I work, that work is a way for me to carefully take care of those things with which God has entrusted me. That is the reason for stewardship. Why do we care about stewardship? We care because God has given us a little on this earth, and we are expected to make it useful for Him. To do otherwise is unfathomable. Jesus tells the parable of the talents. In the parable, the Master entrusts servants with a different number of talents. The master did not entrust one servant with all of the talents, but he spread the wealth, so to speak. But, the master also expected that the servants would administer (steward) those talents wisely. Two servants did, doubling the amount of talents they were able to return to the master. One servant squandered his talent, and was not able to give the master more than he was given. The master calls this servant wicked. The parable shows us that God expects us to be diligent in administering those things he has given to us. A proper work ethic is the starting point for using God’s resources effectively.

            So, kids, you asked me, “Why do you work, Dad?” The answer is two-fold. First, I work because I cannot help but work. It is part of how God made me. To neglect that, and to be idle, would be impossible. Second, I work to give back to God just a little of the abundant grace He has given to me. God has entrusted me with so much, and I want to be a good, worthy steward of those things.

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