Daily Devotional For Monday, September 1, 2025

Good morning and Happy Labor Day. Anything related to the government is closed today. This is one holiday that is not packed with a very long day of lists you have to do such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. It is a day where many people actually get to rest and relax without any major items to do. We get to rest, grill out, have pool parties and watch some sports. Now you may not know why we celebrate Labor Day. 

The idea of Labor Day started in the 19th century as a means to honor our labor union and workers across the country. Prior to Labor Day, many workers worked 7 days a week in very challenging and taxing jobs that exceeded the 40-hour work week. During this time there was no such thing as sick days, paid time off for vacation and annual days. Labor Day honors the way the common everyday American worker helped change how we view work, the workforce, and economic compensation for our jobs. According to the U.S. Labor Department, two men came up with this holiday: Peter J, McGuire and Mathew McGuire. The earliest celebration of Labor Day was on September 5, 1882 in New York City. Slowly over the next few years other states began to adopt the day as an official state holiday and on June 28, 1894, Congress declared it a national holiday. 

The holiday first started as a protest by 10,000 workers who decided on the first Monday in September, 1882, to stage a planned unpaid walk out. These 10,000 workers marched in a parade from City Hall to Union Square in NYC. The organizers, the McGuires chose the first Monday in September because it fell between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. In 1893, they staged another worker walk out on the first Monday in September and then again in 1894. So, this holiday that we celebrate actually started out as a protest by 10,000 workers organizing themselves into a labor union to  walk off the job to protest their poor labor and work conditions by their employers..

Now, what does all of this have to do with God’s Word? I am so glad you are asking that. The Bible has a lot to say about labor and work:

1. First, the Bible says that labor is a gift from God. We have to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (ESV). The Hebrew word translated as “work” here is [לְעָבְדָ֖הּ, abad] and it is used in the Old Testament to refer to tilling the soil. This means that work from the very beginning was part of God’s plan for us and is a privilege to do it. As we care for what God has entrusted to us to labor with, we bring glory to Him.
2. Second, the Bible says that when we do work there is an attitude we are to have when we do work. Look at Proverbs 14:23, “In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty” (NASB). There are great benefits we receive when we put our whole heart into our work. Also, look at Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (ESV). Meaning even our work can be an act of worship to the Lord. When we work with purpose, integrity and with our whole heart, it brings honor and glory to God and blessings to others.
3. Third, labor or work is God’s way of providing for us. Look at Deuteronomy 8:18, "But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (NASB). Meaning our ability to work and make an income, our abilities, skills, and talents are gifts to us from God to give us the means to do this.
4. Fourth, labor and work is a means or way to serve others. Look at Ephesians 4:28, “If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need” (NLT). By our labor and work God gives us the opportunities to bless others from what He has given us. We can help and serve our families, our communities, our church and others by contributing to the common good of all around us.
5. Fifth, labor and work is a way to avoid laziness and idleness. Look at Proverbs 6:6-8, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! (7) Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, (8) they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter” (NLT). If we are able to work, we are supposed to work. Paul reminds the church of this in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat’” (NLT). When we work, we are being productive, caring for what God has entrusted to us and using it all for His glory and honor. 
6. Sixth, the Bible is clear that our labor here on this earth for the Lord Jesus Christ is not in vain, but gives us a future and eternal hope. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:58, “So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted” (NCV). As disciples of Jesus, our work for the Lord produces fruit and brings people to Christ.
7. Seventh, the Bible stresses that labor is also a reminder of our need for rest and relaxation. We see this in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:9-10, “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you” (NLT). There is an old Persian proverb that goes this way: “A bow constantly bent will eventually snap.” God rested on the Sabbath Day not because He needed rest, but to remind us we do. When we balance worth with rest, then we remain healthier and have more vitality for the Lord.

Assignment: Labor Day started as a protest by labor unions. Today, we can let our labor be not a protest, but a praise. If you are retired, are you still giving the Lord you all and your best? When you work, do you work as if you were doing it for the Lord or do you hold back, not giving your best? Look over these 7 points and which of them do you need to focus more on this week? 

Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please convict me that whatever I do, I do it all for You giving it my best of all the skills, talents, abilities and intellect You have given me. I do not want to be a slaggard or a lazybone. Like Joshua in Joshua 14:10-11, I want to keep giving You, God everything, 100% until You take me home. Lord, here is Joshua, at 85 years of age, ready to go into the Promised Land to fight and conquer it. Lord, I want to go our laboring and fighting for You, not taking for granted all You have given me. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly