Do a good job: Why Good Work Matters to God

'God put the man in the garden...to care for it and work it.' Genesis 2:15

The first thing God did when he created Adam was to put him to work. That's because work gives us a sense of purpose, meaning and dignity. 'God put the man in the garden...to...work it' (Genesis 2:15). So, Adam was a gardener.

Work is not a result of human sin; God was a creator and worker from the beginning, and He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it (Genesis 2:15)

Scripture instructs believers to put their heart into their daily tasks: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23).

Quality labour is a practical way to love and serve other people, meeting real needs in your community and marketplace (Matthew 22:39).

Everything about you matters to God, including the work you do—not because God needs you as a cog in some cosmic staffing scheme, performing a certain task for his benefit, but because work is a realm where each of us—no matter what kind of work we do—can honour God and love others.

From the very beginning, God built work into the fabric of humanity. Adam and Eve were given roles in the Garden of Eden: they were commanded to be fruitful, and to have dominion over all that God made; in other words, to engage creatively and redemptively in the world as God’s ambassadors. Work was never the result of the fall; it was always part of God’s plan.

Every job is a reflection of your character. Even routine or manual tasks carry dignity because they imitate God's orderly and faithful character.

But whether you count cash in a bank, trade futures on the Stock Exchange, flip burgers in a beach-side stand, whip up pasta specials at a five-star restaurant, fell giant timber in the forest or split and deliver firewood, coach a team, pastor a congregation, publish best-selling books, deliver newspapers in the early morning hours, star in your own television show, farm a large acreage, mow and edge neighbourhood lawns, go out on the road as a salesperson for computers, drive a truck loaded with machinery, build homes, clean swimming pools, argue cases before a judge or settle family disputes as a counsellor, always do a good job. A wise man once said: 'Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.' The biblical character Daniel did that. And like cream, he rose to the top in Babylon. 'Daniel distinguished himself above the governors...because an excellent spirit was in him' (Daniel 6:3).

There are no small jobs, only people who perceive them as small and become small in doing them. The Bible says: 'Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper' (Proverbs 13:4). So always do a good job.