On May 1, 1984, I started my first day at work (right after college) and met a girl in Bustillos St, Legarda, where we both (took the company service van to) go to work. What a day that is, since that day I have been laboring for this girl – who today is my wife.’ ~ quoted from my hubby with permission (parenthetical words and paraphrase is mine).
Today I read of King Solomon in 1 kings 10-11 – the famous king whom God granted wealth, splendour and wisdom with a kingdom like no other before or after him; who worked for all honor and glory of an earthly kingdom – only to throw them all away because of ‘women.’ – too many of them.. 700 wives, 300 concubines 1 Kings 11:1-8.
My quote: What a difference when a man thinks with his head and loves with his heart for one God and one wife – than when he thinks and lusts with his ____‘ (fill in the blank)… indeed laborious… and vanity of vanities…
God worked. He created the heaven and earth and everything in between, in it and under it. Then He rested. He is the Master of all creation. God rested because his work was completed. There is work and there is rest. God mandated rest in the 4th commandment. In Deuteronomy 5:12-14, God said “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.”
There’s working hard and working out. Working out is resting from work to keep our body fit for sustaining work. We need both to work and to rest. All work and no play makes Jack n Jill a dull boy and girl. All play and no work makes Juan Tamad. Juan Tamad (Filipino for “Lazy John”) is a character in Philippine folklore known for extreme laziness.
We also need to work hard and work out. We need to work hard in our job to do it faithfully and diligently with integrity… to fulfill our responsibility: whether as an employee or the boss, as the husband or the wife, the teacher or the student, the leader or the follower.
Most of all we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)… to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ so that the world will know of the good news of Jesus and the love, grace and mercy of God our Creator of all the world.
