Now, as a teacher, it’s only my duty to remain steadfastly committed to the belief that there’s no such thing as too many snow days. THEY ARE THE BEST! But I will admit, by the time our last couple snow days rolled around in February, I had actually reached the point of being ready to go back to work. I missed my students, I missed having a schedule and routine, and I missed feeling needed and productive. I missed my job!

When we did return to school after an entire week of days off, I thought about how refreshing it felt to be excited about going back to work. I love my job most days (even when it’s not winter), but it’s too easy sometimes to fall into the world’s attitude about work. The world tells us that work is just a means to an end. It’s something we have to do in order to pay the bills, reach a certain social status or attain an amount of power. Society’s messaging hypes up vacations, free time and the mere idea of autonomy and control to the extreme, which by default often paints the picture of work being a miserable time of being stuck under someone else’s control.

But guess what? When God created humans, which we can read about in Genesis 1, the first thing He did was put them to work! And guess what again? IT WASN’T A PUNISHMENT.  

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” -Genesis 1:27-28

See? Notice, God did not say: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and relax. Sit around, lay back, and do whatever you please. Just take it easy!” Nope! He gave them purpose! God tasked them with subduing the earth and ruling over the creatures of the sea, land and sky—the biggest privilege, if you stop and really think about it. WOW. 

If you’ve fallen prey to the world’s suggestion that work is a miserable survival requirement, take a step back! Refresh your perspective, and renew your attitude. Work is a privilege and a gift. It gives you purpose, it offers you a special way to honor and glorify God, and it gives you a mission field for ministry. 

Meditate on these Scripture verses that talk about God’s gift of work. Ask Him to help you see it as just that—a gift—and then choose to look for the good in your daily work. If you look for it, you will find it.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. -Colossians 3:23-24

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. -Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. -Proverbs 12:24

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. -1 Corinthians 15:58

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. -Hebrews 6:10

And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. -1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. -Proverbs 16:3

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. -1 Corinthians 10:31