Daily work: is it a nuisance or a blessing? First and foremost it is a blessing, because God has given it to man.

There is not much that we as mankind have been able to keep from the wonderful first time in the Garden of Eden—the time when Adam and his wife, Eve, were still innocent before God. Their relationship as man and woman is one of these few things that remained with them and with us, namely the marriage, which is a gift from the Creator. Work is another thing that remained with them and with us, even after they committed the original sin of disobedience against the Creator.

The “sweat of your face” is only mentioned when the first couple listened to the voice of the serpent and sinned against God. The original thought of God for us humans was not tedious work, not stress, neither thoughtless routine. It was constructive, creative activity, being active in a “garden of delight, a place of beauty”—which is what “Eden” means.

It is also noteworthy that the creation account already mentions the two major types of work that we still know and practice today: manual labor, because man was to cultivate and maintain that garden, and intellectual labor, when Adam was asked to find a name for each animal according to its kind. Regardless of whichever of these two categories our daily occupation may fall into, we are in harmony with God’s will with every honest work that we pursue with dedication.

Even if at times we really do eat our bread by the sweat of our brow, as God said in His judgment announcement to Adam, we nevertheless gratefully note that it is a blessing from God when we have work and employment.