Third Quarter 2004
Adult Sabbath School Lessons:
"Religion in Relationships"
Insights
to Lesson 6:
Religion in the Workplace
August 7-13
(Produced
by the Editorial Board of the 1888 Message Study Committee)
This
week’s lesson tackles a subject which at first glance would not be
expected to form a very good basis for bringing out the key concepts of the
1888 message. However, contrary to expectations there are some gems awaiting
us. The spiritual nutrients of the most precious message do find application
when considering the subject of religion in the workplace.
The
first intimation of the good news lies buried in the memory text. "The
man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be
found out" (Proverbs 10:9, NIV). In this verse "security" is
contrasted with "being found out". Everyone wants security. This
is a desirable quality, a quality which is easy to become accustomed to. On
the other hand no one wants to "be found out". It is humiliating
to have ones errors or misdeeds discovered. Especially if one has
deliberately done something wrong. So on the one had security is easy to
live with, while the alternative "being found out" is hard. Does
that not remind us something the Lord desires for us?
Jesus
says "take my yoke upon you and learn of me". "My yoke is
easy and my burden is light." The man of integrity takes the "easy
yoke". He does that which brings security and peace and happiness,
while those who choose the alternative route will sooner or later discover
they have chosen the hard road of "kicking against the pricks".
Our
next gospel gem comes to light under Sunday’s study entitle Work Ethic.
Here we are reminded of the consequences for sin which were explained to
Adam the day he ate of the forbidden fruit. The Lord said to Adam
"Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days
of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring fourth for you, and
you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat
bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust
you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:17 -19).
Indeed
this is a rather daunting sentence on the surface: cursed, toil, thorns and
thistles, sweat, until you return to the ground. Is there any good news
here? When Adam first heard these words it is doubtful he could understand
why God has used the expression "for your sake". None of this
appeared on the surface to be "for his sake". Yet God assured him
that it was. Each of these would prove to be vehicles conveying the message
of God’s love for sinners.
1
Corinthians 4:15 Says "all things are for your sakes". And Romans
8:28 says "all things work together for good". Somehow the shadow
of mystery must be swept away and we must see that God was not mocking Adam
when He used the expression "for your sake". In the curse was a
blessing and "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more"
(Romans 5:20).
Each
of these consequences either convey or communicate a blessing to mankind.
Work was given man before he sinned. Yet after sin entered it was to become
more challenging and require more effort. This discipline would help to
counteract the ruin which sin had wrought. It would help to build character
and keep man from the temptations that idleness and lack of opportunity for
development would bring. The challenges would demand concentration and focus
which would deny the adversary a free and clear channel for continual
temptation to evil. All of these blessings would come out of the curse upon
the ground and the extra toil which the curse would make necessary. The
curse is a blessing. Toil, even hard labor, is a blessing. "Where sin
abounded grace abounded much more".
Thorns
and thistles can these be a blessing? Yes. These two would prove a blessing.
First of all they would be mnemonic devices constantly reminding us of the
curse which sin has caused. Perhaps that is not a pleasant thought, but this
mnemonic device would take on an entirely different connotation after the
crucifixion of Christ. He who deserved a crown of gold wore a crown of
thorns. Every time we see a thorn or perhaps are even pricked by one we
should be reminded that He was made a curse for us. Yes, the thorns are a
blessing, for "where sin abounded grace abounded much more".
Sweat.
Who likes to sweat? When it comes to effort, one of our favorite expressions
is "no sweat". The carnal nature is adverse to sweat. We go to
great lengths to avoid sweat. We put air conditioning in our home and our
cars. But the curse was "for our sakes" and "all things are
for our sakes". Can sweat also be a blessing? Medical science says it
is a blessing. It is through sweat that many of the toxins which build up in
the body are eliminated and if we do not sweat we over burden the other
processes which the body uses to eliminate waste and toxins. Sweating helps
to keep us healthy in a fallen world. But could there be more to it than
this?
Indeed
there is more. Sweat is also a mnemonic device for one element of the plan
of redemption. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed fervently that the
cup might be removed. So great was His agony, as He petitioned His Father
for release, His sweat became as great drops of blood falling down to the
ground. When we consider how He sweated we realize we have not begun to
sweat. And we also see how great a blessing sweat can be. "Where sin
abounded grace abounded much more".
"Until
you return to the ground." When Adam first heard these words they
sounded like a horrible sentence. Surely he could not see how this could be
"for his sake". But "all things are for our sakes". We
can not see the end from the beginning or understand God’s purposes in all
things but by faith we can know that the worst of our experiences are for
our sakes and all things are working together for good. The Lord did not
sentence Adam to death because His feelings toward him had changed. He
pronounced the death sentence in mercy. Many centuries later, after Adam had
witnessed over nine hundred years of sin, he could see the wisdom of God’s
decision. He wanted to rest, and he embraced death as the blessing which God
intended it to be.
More
than this, the death which Adam dies and all people die today is only a
faint shadow of what justice demanded. Every time we see a loved one fall
asleep we should be reminded that no one has ever truly died, except Christ.
He died the death which we deserved that we might have the life which only
He deserves. Death as a sleep is a mnemonic device pointing to the real
death which Jesus died for us. Death: A blessing? Yes. Even returning to the
ground is a blessing. "For where sin abounded, grace abounded much
more".
Our
next gospel gem peeks out from the page of Tuesday’s lesson, Christian
Values in The Workplace: Part 1. The question is asked "What
motivation is given for honesty in business dealing?" The reference
given is Leviticus 19:35 and 36 which closes with the words, "I am the
Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt". The land of
Egypt was the land of bondage. The deliverance of the children of Israel
from Egypt was a type of the deliverance wrought by Christ through the plan
of redemption. The bondage represented bondage to sin. Thus the proper
motivation for right conduct in business relationships is appreciation for
the cost of our salvation/deliverance. Furthermore, that deliverance is
deliverance from sin, including the sin of unjust business practices. Old
covenant motivation seeks to do right out of fear of being "found
out" or being lost. New covenant motivation seeks to do right out of
appreciation for having been saved.
Finally
the last gospel gem which we would like to highlight comes from Thursday’s
lesson, Seeing Potential in Others. Jesus selected a group of men to
be His apostles who on the surface did not look very promising. They are not
the type of folk who get voted "most likely to succeed". Human
love chooses men because of the value it sees in them. But God’s love
(agape) creates value in those whom He chooses. And God chose us all in
Christ before the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4) So in our business
relationships we should seek to build up those with whom we associate, and
place confidence and trust in those who we hope will become trust worthy.
For if we choose to associate with only those in whom great potential is
obvious, what do we more than the heathen?
—Mark
Duncan
Read the study
notes for lesson 7
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