The person that God used most to lead me to Christ was also one of the godliest men that I have ever met. One thing in particular that really stood out about him was his own personal discipline.

Every area of his life seemed to flourish — whether it was in the classroom, on the basketball court or even his relationship with God. There was never any doubt that this was all a result of God’s grace, but he also emphasised to me the importance of personal responsibility when it came to having a right attitude to work. In fact he used to love quoting to me a saying from his mother. And that was, “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.”

One of the things that really stand out about what Christians think about the topic of work today though is just how unimportant we think it really is. For instance, there are lots of books on how to be a good parent, and yet hardly any on how to be a good employer or employee. Just think, when was the last time, if ever, you read a book on this particular subject?

Now this might seem like a strange point to make, but just consider for a moment how much space the Bible gives to the topic of work compared to the sub­ject of parenting. For example, in the New Testament there are only two major pas­sages that deal with how to raise children (Eph. 6:1-4; Col. 3:20-21), whereas there are at least seven that address the topic of work (Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22-4:1; 1 Thess. 4:9-11; 2 Thess. 3:6-13; 1 Tim. 6:1-21; Tit. 2:9-10; 1 Pet. 2:11-12, 18-21). Obviously, teaching on how to conduct ourselves in the workplace is something that God sees as needing even more instruction and rev­elation than on how to raise our children!

In fact, when we look at the issue of work throughout the Bible we find that this is something that God’s Word has consistently emphasised. For instance, have you ever noticed that God himself commissioned the practice right back in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15) and also reaffirmed it once again after the fall (Gen. 3:17-19)?

It was also something that was obvi­ously expected of the Israelites when they were slaves in Egypt, as well as when they were in the Promised Land (Ex. 23:12). It was also required of them during the mis­erable years of the Exile (Jer. 29:4-5).

The Lord Jesus constantly used the example of hard working “labourers” to illustrate faithful Christian service (eg. Mt. 25:26-30) and the apostle Paul even went so far as to lay down the rule amongst the churches that “If a man does not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thess. 3:6-15).

And last but not least, the prophecies of Isaiah lead us to expect that there will still be work to be done in the new heaven and earth (Isa. 65:21-22).

One of the places in the Bible where the topic of work is given the most atten­tion is in the book of Proverbs. According to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, hard work is something that is integral to wise living. In particular a person called “the sluggard” is consis­tently drawn upon to illustrate the folly of not working hard.

When I was at university I was very fond of my afternoon nap – that is until I started reading Proverbs in my quiet times. It seemed that every time I lay down I would hear the words echo in my head,

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like a beggar. Prov. 6:9-11

Then there was the other one that said, “As a door turns on its hinges, so a slug­gard turns on his bed” — what parent with teenagers can’t relate to that!

Later, when it came to sitting final exams, my friends and I agreed that the proverb“A sluggard does not plough in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing” (Prov. 40:4) seemed especially apt, even if we hadn’t taken heed of it.

Clearly, the instruction to work hard — whether with our hands or brains — is something that is emphasised not only in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament but throughout the Bible. The apostle Paul even chose to forego his “stipend” so he could be a model to those he was ministering to (2 Thess. 3:9).

However, many people in the church today don’t seem to realise just how important it is spiritually to work hard. For instance, would you ever consider not fellowshipping with another Christian simply because he was known to be lazy? The Holy Spirit says we should (2 Thess. 3:11-15).

Unfortunately one thing that happens all too often is that Christians who work for other believers don’t give them the same dedication and conscientious service as they would for someone who did not believe. One of the members of a church I used to minister at even said she’d noticed that the non-Christians she employed to work in her dental surgery were better workers than the Christians.

Just listen to what the apostle Paul has to say on this point though.

Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them. 1 Tim. 6:2

Finally, we need to keep in mind the big picture. King Solomon rightly lamented the fact that even work was meaningless outside of being in a right relationship with God (Ecc. 2:1-11), and he was absolutely right. But in the light of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, there is something that is always worth working hard at, and that is the work of the Lord. How many of us have fallen into the trap though of working hard at our jobs but then say that we have no time to read our Bibles and pray, let alone go to Bible study or even be involved in a ministry of some kind?

This would have to be the greatest tragedy of all. That we are so focused on working hard at our jobs or in our responsibilities at home that we fail to apply ourselves to the one thing that is not “meaningless” or “in vain”, the work of the Lord. As the apostle Paul said to the saints in Corinth,

Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

This means that everything we do for Christ has an ongoing impact right on into eternity — such as sharing the Gospel with our friends and family, glorifying God in how we submit to and faithfully serve our boss at work, and bringing our children up in the training and instruc­tion of the Lord. We should aim to work hard at all of these areas because in Christ these things have an eternal significance.

The friend who led me to Christ was indeed a godly man. He worked hard intellectually, physically and spiritually. His life demonstrated that just because we have been saved by God’s grace doesn’t mean that we are excused from working hard. In fact, it’s precisely because we have been saved by God’s grace that we can really throw ourselves into the good works that the Lord has given us to do. We know that these works will have a last­ing value right on into eternity.

Thus, we need to realise that Satan will try to do everything he possibly can to make us as lazy, and therefore as ineffec­tive, as he possibly can. As my godly friend’s mother used to say, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”. Though it’s not in Scripture, there’s another of those wise little proverbs well worth pondering!