It’s been official for 131 years. Labor Day was signed into law in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland. The understanding of the day has changed considerably since its inception.
“The history of Labor Day starts with the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, a vast array of jobs and commerce were brought to the United States. What the Industrial Revolution didn’t bring was appropriate pay, safety regulations or commonsense guidelines for the number of hours people should work each day and each week. To put things in perspective, the average American worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, at the height of the Industrial Revolution. It also wasn’t uncommon to see young children doing hard labor in harsh working conditions for minuscule pay.
“People noticed these poor conditions, though. Labor unions slowly started to form and fight for American workers’ rights to fair pay, fair hours and safe working conditions. Strikes and rallies were organized, and they sometimes turned violent. During this heady time, the idea for Labor Day was formed. The holiday was designed to acknowledge the contributions American workers have made to our country.”1
Today, many will celebrate the fact that they don’t have to go to work. Those who do might receive the benefit of holiday pay and, if nothing else, they will receive their normal pay. Unfortunately, many retailers will be open, hosting their Labor Day sales and hoping it will be a great day in receipts, all the while, depriving their employees of what they really want – to be off and not at work.
Labor Day also marks the unofficial end of summer. People will get in their last swimming pool parties, barbecues, and other fun outdoor activities in preparation for fall and winter. By now, the kids are back in school, and the focus of many families goes to the daily academics and extracurricular activities.
Most Americans look forward to the day that they can stop working, embracing that milestone of retirement and a desire to start doing the things they’ve wanted to do for so long.
Our celebration of labor seems to go contrary to our feelings about labor. Perhaps there is a reasonable explanation as to why retirement seems to be such an appreciable goal.
Genesis 2:1-3 gives us the first usage of the word work. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
Work was and is a good thing because our God is involved in it. Of this work, Genesis 1:31 gives God’s reaction. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” God was quite pleased with His handiwork!
So, why don’t we like work? Some are going to say that they love to work but they don’t love to work 24/7. The vast majority of people find that as they get older, work that was simple and easy yesterday has become nearly an impossible task today. Energy and stamina are gone. What has caused this phenomenon?
After the fall in Genesis 3, the Lord places a curse on everything. Genesis 3:17-19 says, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; (19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” The curse made work WORK! It made it sweaty, difficult, and toilsome.
If Adam had not fallen in the Garden, there would still be work because the God of the universe is a hard working God. However, the essence of that work and working itself would be pure and in accordance with what the Lord intended in the beginning. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could get a glimpse of what that might be like?!?
Today, give God thanks for the work He has given you to do. Thank Him for the strength, intellect, and skills He has given. Thank Him for the opportunity to put it all into use and practice. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (24) Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
1https://www.rd.com/article/what-is-labor-day/
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