Saturday Song: Cat Stevens, "Matthew and Son"

To some folks, "work" is a four-letter word. It's something we do to keep from starving. There are those blessed individuals whose work is a joy but the majority of humanity does it to earn a living.

This song by Cat Stevens is about work and its relentless grind. Listen to the song here:

I remember how shocked I felt when the school janitor told me and some other boys how fortunate we were to have two whole months off from school in the summer. Nobody warned us that adults only get two measly weeks for the whole year.

There was a long-ago time when work was a delight. God gave Adam the task of looking after the garden of Eden. He could work when he wanted to and he could eat the fruit from every tree except one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He and Eve didn't have to worry about what to wear to work either.

Of course things changed once Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Genesis 3:17(BBE) tells us how Adam and his descendents were sentenced to hard labour. "And to Adam he said, 'Because you gave ear to the voice of your wife and took of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take, the earth is cursed on your account; in pain you will get your food from it all your life.'"

Even so, the Bible has much to say about hard work. Proverbs in particular lauds diligence. Proverbs 10:4 and 5 (BBE) is just one example of this. "He who is slow in his work becomes poor, but the hand of the ready worker gets in wealth. He who in summer gets together his store is a son who does wisely; but he who takes his rest when the grain is being cut is a son causing shame."

And if a person works well and skillfully, even government leaders notice it. Proverbs 22:29 (BBE)says, "Have you seen a man who is expert in his business? he will take his place before kings; his place will not be among low persons."

And as in the physical world, we must be diligent in spiritual things. Regarding the new heavens and the new earth, 2 Peter 3:14 (BBE) admonishes us, "For this reason, my loved ones, as you are looking for these things, take great care that when he comes you may be in peace before him, free from sin and every evil thing."

A day will come when we won't have to toil under the burning sun for sustenance. Revelation 22:5 (BBE) reminds us, "And there will be no more night; and they have no need of a light or of the shining of the sun; for the Lord God will give them light: and they will be ruling for ever and ever." What a hope that is!

On Monday, I hope to post about Why God wants mercy rather than sacrifice.

Why Does God Allow Sin?

Since God is righteous and perfectly within his right to condemn sinners, why does he allow sin? He hates it but why doesn't he deal with it directly?

God has always given humanity a choice to follow him or the Devil. We saw that clearly demonstrated in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had only one commandment to obey but they chose to rebel.

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) demonstrates that choice is a gift from God. "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Choice also lets God's grace have greater effect. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:20 (KJV),  "Moreover the law entered, that the offence  might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more  abound:"

But the Lord won't let sin go on unpunished forever. Check out what Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:8 (KJV). "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:"

But does God cause sin to happen? No way! Paul explains who really is at fault for sin. He wrote in Galatians 6:7 (KJV), "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for  whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." In other words, what goes around comes around.

The Lord also lets bad things happen to his people for a good cause. Paul knew this well when he wrote in Philippians 1:12 (KJV)  "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;"

But must we wait until Christ's return for wickedness to be punished? There are times when sins are punished in this life. Look at what God said in Deuteronomy 32:35 (KJV). "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste."

These are but a few of many scriptures which show that God makes use of sin but he isn't the cause of it. I'll be writing more on this subject in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? One reason many people give for rejecting the Lord is because he seems not to do anything about all the evil in this world. How reassuring it is that NOBODY will get away with continual wickedness all through their lives.