Work was required to attain everything else.
The story continues with the Israelites. It may be speculated that they were workaholics, thus causing God to include the third commandment, "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy". The thrust of the commandment is that we take God's word seriously. We should read it, and listen to it, and study it. In any event, we need to take time off from our work to rest and study God's word.
In the book of Nehemiah we are told that the city of Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt, "because the people had a mind to work". Without their work, the holy city would not have been rebuilt. The prophet Haggai urged the people to rebuild the temple. "They should work because the Lord was with them. The Lord would bless the work of the Lord's people". .
Later, in the New Testament book of Thessalonians, Paul urged the people to work, "if one in the faith community does not work, then that person shouldn't eat either".
So then, work takes on a value all its own. Work is blessed by God and is expected of God's people.
How do we see work today? It is sure we see it as necessary. Don't we value it so much that sometimes it becomes our god? Is it something that we value so much that we would do anything, or sacrifice anything, to keep working? Our whole economic system is based on how productive we are as workers. If productivity declines we become concerned. We try to be as productive as possible. The attempt is made to produce the most goods or services possible for the investment.
We have built into our work system the concept of fairness. A day's work for a day's pay, a day's pay for a day's work. This structure is built into our contracts whether we are a manager or a floor sweeper. There is considerable disagreement about which jobs are more important, but nevertheless, we agree that pay should reflect the work we do.
In Matthew 20, Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
