Ep. 54 | Attitudes at Work | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 2:15-17. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Every story has a beginning. And if you don't understand the beginning, you'll likely misunderstand everything that follows. Welcome to Formed by the Word. Currently, we're going back to the very beginning as we look together at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters explain our world, our struggles, and much about ourselves. We'll see beauty and brokenness, purpose and pride, judgment and grace. We'll watch humanity fall and see that God already had a plan to restore his relationship with us. The Bible doesn't start with a problem, it starts with a perfect God, and that changes everything. So, wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, because the God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Well, how are you enjoying Genesis so far? I don't know about you, but I'm excited about this study. So let's just dive right in today. And let's start with Genesis chapter 2. Today we're going to look at verses 15 through 17, and it's all about attitudes about work. Here's what we read. The Lord God placed the man in the garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die. I heard someone once say, I love work. I could watch it all day long. Well, I know it's meant to be a little bit of a joke, but it really is our struggle, isn't it? Sometimes we'd rather avoid something that God designed to give us purpose because it's, well, maybe not comfortable. In fact, we live in a culture that often says work is something to escape, work is something to avoid. But here we learn in the Garden of Eden, before sin, before stress or burnout, God gave man a job. He gave man the blessing of work. That means that work isn't the problem. The problem may just be our view of work or what we're trying to accomplish in that work. Does that create a little tension in you? It does me. The thought runs somewhat counterintuitive to our culture, doesn't it? It's telling us that work is not a curse to avoid. It's calling us to embrace work. And we just don't hear a lot of that in our culture today. Well, several things we observe here in this text. First, let's start with this. I observe, first of all, that work is a God-given assignment, right? Verse 15 says, the Lord God, Yahweh God, took the man and put him in the garden. Adam didn't just wander into purpose. He was placed into it. You see, God assigned his environment where he was to work. God defined his responsibility, what he was supposed to do. You see, work begins with calling, not convenience. Work is about purpose and calling even more than career and pay. Well, think about that just a moment. It speaks to us, doesn't it? You're not where you are by accident. This passage is reminding us. Your job, your role, your responsibilities, they're part of God's assignment for you right now. Your work is not random, it's an assignment from God. The second thing I observe is that work is a responsibility to steward. He said that God placed the man in the garden. Why? To work it and keep it. Before sin entered the world, entered this garden environment, God gave man purpose. He put him here to work it, that is, to cultivate it, to develop it, to bring out the full potential of the soil, and to keep it, that is to guard it. Really, the idea might be as much as protection, stewardship, that is, management of the garden, management of the task that God has given. Now, this tells us something that I think is, again, foundational, and it's this work is not a curse. Let me say that again because I think sometimes we think of work as being a result of the fall that's going to take place in the next chapter. But here we haven't gotten to the fall of man yet. We haven't got to man's sin yet. This is before all that. So it tells me that work is not a curse. In fact, it's more of a calling. Responsibility is not punishment for something we've done wrong, it's purpose for what God has for our life. So Adam wasn't wandering aimlessly. He was placed and assigned. And by the way, note this very important. Adam wasn't the owner. He was a steward. Work is about managing what belongs to God. You see, we need to understand and see this throughout Scripture that God has placed you where you are on purpose. Your work, your role, your garden, if you will, is a place of management, of stewardship. And so let me ask you this question. How are you handling what God has entrusted to you? Are you working with care, with excellence, with faithfulness? You don't own your work. You're entrusted with it. We don't have to run from it. We can embrace it. The third thing I see in the text is that work seems to thrive within God's boundaries. Here's what he says. He says, You may surely eat, talking about the fruit of the trees. You may surely eat, but you shall not eat. You can freely eat of this tree, but you shall not eat of this tree. Now, what I want you to see for now on that is that there's a boundary here to respect, right? There's a boundary that we need to see and understand that work thrives, but only within God's boundary. One tree, one boundary. Why? Because love requires choice and choice requires boundaries. This wasn't about fruit, it was about trust. Would Adam trust God's wisdom over his own curiosity? Would he live under God's authority, or would he pursue independence? Would he chase after that one thing God said, don't eat. God's boundaries are not there to restrict your life. They are there to protect your life. So next is a warning of sorts, right? In verse 17, the end of the chapter says, For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. Wow. Pretty tough warning here, but it's very clear. God is very clear, direct, and honest. Disobedience brings death. Sin always carries consequences. Anytime we choose to disobey God, we're putting ourselves in place of harm. This is not harsh. It's loving clarity. God doesn't hide the outcome. Aren't you glad? God doesn't hide the outcome of sin. He doesn't mask over the penalty of sin. He reveals it. The warning is not meant to scare. It's meant to save. God gave an abundance of freedom and one clear boundary. Don't miss this. God starts with permission, not prohibition. He starts by saying, every tree, every tree, that's speaking of an abundance, not just some, not just one or two, every tree in the garden you may surely eat from. You are to fully enjoy all the trees. He gives that, that wonderful permission before he ever gives the prohibition to say except for one. Before God ever says no, he says a massive yes. God is not restrictive, he's generous. The Christian life is not about limitation, it's about rightly ordered freedom. And even in work, even in our work, God sets limits. Not everything is yours to take, not every opportunity is yours to pursue. Now, important passage of scripture here, and I think it has some very clear application. Every time we step outside God's design, we step towards something that diminishes life. So I think there's a couple of things we can draw from this text. One, embrace your assignment. Where has God placed you to work and keep? Don't overlook your current Eden, your current garden, your current job, your current position, your current assignment, however you want to say it. Embrace your assignment. Second, celebrate God's generosity. Why not shift your focus from what's restricted to what's been richly provided? Instead of focusing on what we can't do or what we don't have, why don't we focus on what we may do and what we already have or what we have available if we simply choose? And then third, trust God's boundaries. Where is God saying no in your life right now? That no is an expression of his care for you. I know right now it seems like a limit right now, it seems like an unfair hindrance right now, it seems like it's just not fair, it's just not right, it's painful, all of those things combined. Whatever God is saying no to in your life right now, but I'm asking you to trust God's boundaries. Understand that his no is always an expression, as much of an expression of his care as his yeses. And then the takeaway for today, I think it's one that's worth noting. Freedom isn't the absence of boundaries, it's living within the right ones. Freedom isn't the absence of boundaries, it's living within the right boundaries. You were not created to avoid work, you were created to honor God through it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this time this morning, and thank you for the blessing of work. Help us, Lord, to reshape our thinking when it comes to our attitude of work. And Lord, help us to embrace the position, the assignment that you've placed us in today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.