The Blessing and the Reward of Work

What man really wants and needs in life is an opportunity to work.

MERVYN G. HARDINGE, Instructor in Anatomy, C.M.E., Loma Linda, California

According to one Writer, J. B. Nash, "What man really wants and needs in life is an opportunity to work." Take work from him, and he is like a stream without an outlet, which slows down, gathers debris, and stagnates, because it takes but cannot give.

The Creator, realizing the necessity that man have work, planted a garden and gave to him the duty of dressing and keeping it. To Adam was also given the task of naming and studying the creatures that God made. In this we see how God planned that man should have both mental and physical duties, supplemented with the worship of his Creator.

With the fall of man from his sinless state, a change in his conception of values became appar­ent. Selfishness and ease would quickly have led to physical, mental, and moral death. Man Was no longer master of himself, and so it was necessary that he be forced to work, for his own good. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."

"It was God's purpose to alleviate by toil the evil brought into the world by man's disobedience. . . Its [labor's] discipline places a check on self-indulgence, and promotes industry, purity, and firmness. Thus it be­comes a part of God's great plan for our recovery from the fall."—Messages to Young People, p. 213.

To every human being God has given a work to do. This is to be performed to the best of his ability. Alongside the irreligious, the true Chris­tian should stand out in his capacity for work, mental or physical, and in his ability to enjoy life. Why? Because God has given to His followers a vision of service, and because the man who has trust in God and complies with His requirements can go about his tasks with a mind that is free from the worry and anxiety of what the future may hold for him. It is a well-known fact that the capacity for work, both in quality and in quan­tity, is increased by a spirit of well-being and con­tentment.

Work, today, divides itself into two main types —that which is almost entirely physical and that which is almost entirely mental. It is -obvious that it is quite impossible to dissociate the two. And since acuity of mind enables more efficient physical achievement, and in turn, physical fitness influ­ences mental activity, the use of these two main types of work in an intelligent manner should pro­duce the best results for the individual.

Ideally the individual should enjoy the work en­gaged in, and it should consist of a balance be­tween mental and physical effort, in surroundings that are congenial and healthy. When the period of work is over, it should find the individual tired, but not exhausted. But today the civilization of the Western world has taken a trend which is not conducive to the ideal. Some have only mental work, while others have only physical. Motivated by the underlying desires to obtain money, pleas­ure, and security, man depends, to a lesser or greater degree, on his outdoing his competitor to gain success. Thus man works with his physical and mental powers under a constant pressure, the strain of which produces an unwarranted degree of wear and tear on his entire organism.                                                                              

Just as it is impossible to dissociate mental and physical work, so too, work and health are insep­arably united. As health influences the quality of work, so work will influence the quality of health. With few exceptions the particular work the in­dividual engages in has little effect on health, but his attitude toward the work is the deciding factor.

MENTAL WORK.—To fail to use one's mind is to dwarf the intellect. Despite the fact that the occupation of many is physical in character, yet the problem of life, the decisions that must be made, and the discernment necessary in the ma­terial and spiritual questions which daily confront each individual, require the use of faculties of in­telligence, judgment, and reasoning, functioning at maximum efficiency.

The one who uses the body and not the mind is permitting the control room to be handled by an­other. On an ever-increasing scale, the masses in the world today are being actuated by the minds of a few. The vast assembly lines, the mechanical devices that are automatically run, the radio and the newspaper that continually give to one predi­gested thought and entertainment—all tend to make man into a mere machine, the functioning unit of someone else. Therefore, "Our intellect must be cultivated Close, hard thinking must be given to the solution of difficulties."—Testimonies to Min­isters, pp. 374, 375.

PHYSICAL WORK.—One of the fundamental laws of nature is that use of a faculty, muscle, or organ, will enhance and not destroy. Disuse produces atrophy. Physical work augments body functions and develops the structures that form man. The circulation is increased; the respiration is deep­ened; the muscles are activated. The bones, the organs, yes, every portion of the body begins to function better. Above all, the mind is stimu­lated, memory is improved, and judgment is keener.

There is an old German proverb that reads, "A mill without wheat grinds itself." Physical work forces one to think of things outside of self, and so prevents self-interest. The more the mind dwells on self, the sooner will the imagination carry one from a healthy to a sickly state. "Judicious labor is a healthful tonic for the human race. It makes the feeble strong, the poor rich, the wretched happy."—Messages to Young People, p. 215.

WORK AS A MEDICINE.—Work in recent years has taken an increasingly important place among the therapeutic agents available to the physician. He has found that whenever a patient is capable of physical and mental activity—not in a meaning­less manner, but in the form of constructive enter­prise—both the mental and physical health of the patient is improved. The term occupational they-ay, and the large number of articles and books written on the subject, testify to the importance of this phase of the healing art.

Take work from man, and he will think of self alone. Self-interestedness is corrosive, destroying the body, the mind, and the spirit. Give him work to do, and note the change. There will be a spring in his step, a sparkle in his eye, and a set to his shoulders. Give a man idleness, plenty, and a ceaseless round of pleasure, and discontent, melan­cholia, and mental unrest are the sure result, ac­companied with dyspepsia, insomnia, and disease. Give him work, and he will bubble with enthusi­asm, laugh for the joy of life. He will eat and sleep and live well.

Mere Work or Wider Service?

Someday our work is to be judged, and upon the results our eternal destiny will hang. How have you worked? For what have you worked? Why did you work ? These are the issues. To the man without God life is a failure if the goal is not reached. But to him who serves Christ, his motives for service and the actions which defined his intentions are the great things, his successes, his rewards. These have been his work, and they will be his salvation.

In Matthew 20 is recorded one of the parables of Christ. He described a householder going out at nine, twelve, and three o'clock on a certain day, looking for laborers to work in his vineyard. With those being hired at nine in the morning, an agree­ment was made that they should .be paid at the rate of a penny a day. At five in the evening (or at the eleventh hour) the householder went out again, and found workmen still unemployed. They were glad to accept the opportunity to work, leav­ing the question of remuneration to the judgment of their employer.

At the close of the day, it is recorded: "The lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first." It came as a surprise to the laborers that every man received a penny. Those who had been first employed felt that they should have received more, and complained say­ing, We "have borne the burden and heat of the day." But in reply the words of the master are recorded: "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way."

In this we have the expression of a great prin­ciple. Those who worked for a penny only, ob­tained that for which they had labored. Those who had seen an opportunity to serve, and had ac­cepted the challenge, obtained a rich reward. So it is in life. One gets that for which he works. Work for material things, and in their final analy­ses they will appear but meager wages. Answer the call of the Master, serve Him in serving oth­ers, and the reward will be an abundant, overflow­ing measure.

by the underlying desires to obtain money, pleas­ure, and security, man depends, to a lesser or greater degree, on his outdoing his competitor to gain success. Thus man works with his physical and mental powers under a constant pressure, the strain of which produces an unwarranted degree of wear and tear on his entire organism.                                                                           

Just as it is impossible to dissociate mental and physical work, so too, work and health are insep­arably united. As health influences the quality of work, so work will influence the quality of health. With few exceptions the particular work the in­dividual engages in has little effect on health, but his attitude toward the work is the deciding factor.

MENTAL WORK.—To fail to use one's mind is to dwarf the intellect. Despite the fact that the occupation of many is physical in character, yet the problem of life, the decisions that must be made, and the discernment necessary in the ma­terial and spiritual questions which daily confront each individual, require the use of faculties of in­telligence, judgment, and reasoning, functioning at maximum efficiency.

The one who uses the body and not the mind is permitting the control room to be handled by an­other. On an ever-increasing scale, the masses in the world today are being actuated by the minds of a few. The vast assembly lines, the mechanical devices that are automatically run, the radio and the newspaper that continually give to one predi­gested thought and entertainment—all tend to make man into a mere machine, the functioning unit of someone else. Therefore, "Our intellect must be cultivated Close, hard thinking must be given to the solution of difficulties."—Testimonies to Min­isters, pp. 374, 375.

PHYSICAL WORK.—One of the fundamental laws of nature is that use of a faculty, muscle, or organ, will enhance and not destroy. Disuse produces atrophy. Physical work augments body functions and develops the structures that form man. The circulation is increased; the respiration is deep­ened; the muscles are activated. The bones, the organs, yes, every portion of the body begins to function better. Above all, the mind is stimu­lated, memory is improved, and judgment is keener.

There is an old German proverb that reads, "A mill without wheat grinds itself." Physical work forces one to think of things outside of self, and so prevents self-interest. The more the mind dwells on self, the sooner will the imagination carry one from a healthy to a sickly state. "Judicious labor is a healthful tonic for the human race. It makes the feeble strong, the poor rich, the wretched happy."—Messages to Young People, p. 215.

WORK AS A MEDICINE.—Work in recent years has taken an increasingly important place among the therapeutic agents available to the physician. He has found that whenever a patient is capable of physical and mental activity—not in a meaning­less manner, but in the form of constructive enter­prise—both the mental and physical health of the patient is improved. The term occupational they-ay, and the large number of articles and books written on the subject, testify to the importance of this phase of the healing art.

Take work from man, and he will think of self alone. Self-interestedness is corrosive, destroying the body, the mind, and the spirit. Give him work to do, and note the change. There will be a spring in his step, a sparkle in his eye, and a set to his shoulders. Give a man idleness, plenty, and a ceaseless round of pleasure, and discontent, melan­cholia, and mental unrest are the sure result, ac­companied with dyspepsia, insomnia, and disease. Give him work, and he will bubble with enthusi­asm, laugh for the joy of life. He will eat and sleep and live well.

Mere Work or Wider Service?

Someday our work is to be judged, and upon the results our eternal destiny will hang. How have you worked? For what have you worked? Why did you work ? These are the issues. To the man without God life is a failure if the goal is not reached. But to him who serves Christ, his motives for service and the actions which defined his intentions are the great things, his successes, his rewards. These have been his work, and they will be his salvation.

In Matthew 20 is recorded one of the parables of Christ. He described a householder going out at nine, twelve, and three o'clock on a certain day, looking for laborers to work in his vineyard. With those being hired at nine in the morning, an agree­ment was made that they should .be paid at the rate of a penny a day. At five in the evening (or at the eleventh hour) the householder went out again, and found workmen still unemployed. They were glad to accept the opportunity to work, leav­ing the question of remuneration to the judgment of their employer.

At the close of the day, it is recorded: "The lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first." It came as a surprise to the laborers that every man received a penny. Those who had been first employed felt that they should have received more, and complained say­ing, We "have borne the burden and heat of the day." But in reply the words of the master are recorded: "Friend, I do thee no wrong : didst not thou agree with me for a penny ? Take that thine is, and go thy way."

In this we have the expression of a great prin­ciple. Those who worked for a penny only, ob­tained that for which they had labored. Those who had seen an opportunity to serve, and had ac­cepted the challenge, obtained a rich reward. So it is in life. One gets that for which he works. Work for material things, and in their final analy­ses they will appear but meager wages. Answer the call of the Master, serve Him in serving oth­ers, and the reward will be an abundant, overflow­ing measure.


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MERVYN G. HARDINGE, Instructor in Anatomy, C.M.E., Loma Linda, California

November 1946

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