Beyond the Grind: Finding Dignity in Work and Rest

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:05:58] Hi everybody! We are so glad that you are here and looking forward to a great worship this morning. We have a great God that deserves all of our praise. Yes? Yes! So welcome online. We're really glad that you're joining us today and hope that you have an amazing worship where you are and that we're all unified by the power of that Holy Spirit and just see amazing things and experience Him in new ways. So I wanted to remind you that are here to sign in on the attendance pads. Pass those down the row so that everybody gets signed in.
[00:06:29] any of you that were thinking about going on our Malawi mission trip, that that meeting for information is today after this worship service. So plan to stay after and get the information you need to make that decision if you are called to go with us for that.
[00:06:43] Also, I wanted to point out that on Holy Week, on Holy Thursday, Maundy Thursday, however you know it, we're doing a Seder meal. And this is kind of exciting, but we do have limited seating. So I
[00:06:54] need you to think about what your plans will be Holy Week. And if you want to join us for the Seder meal. They'll be in the fellowship hall. We have 120 spaces. And so this is for your family,
[00:07:05] children, parents, the whole thing. It's going to be really cool. So if you want to be part of that, sign up as soon as you know you can be there. And with that, are you ready to worship? Yes. Well,
[00:07:13] we have a call to worship this morning so that you can focus your attention and hearts on God.

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:13:16] And online church family, welcome to worship this morning. Why don't you take a moment, greet the people that you're worshiping with, and we'll sing some hymns together.
[00:13:24] Find somebody you've never met before.
[00:13:26] A rowdy church, rowdy for Jesus.
[00:14:49] Sing, oh, worship the King.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:18:30] You can be seated.
[00:18:34] We turn our eyes on Jesus.
[00:18:36] We should do that all the time, but these Sunday mornings are kind of a reminder and a way to launch into the next week with our eyes on Him, and hopefully we keep them there.
[00:18:47] We do that when we worship, and we do that also when we pray, and both for the same reason, because we know He's God.
[00:18:53] We know He's good.
[00:18:54] He's the one that can make the difference.
[00:18:56] So let's join together this morning in prayer using the words of the prayer of invocation found in the bulletin and on the screen.
[00:19:06] God of all creation, in the beginning you created human beings in your own image and likeness.
[00:19:15] You are the God who works, and you made us for work, that we would add value to your creation and to the lives of others.
[00:19:24] yet too often we view work as a burden to be endured, a necessary evil. Forgive us, Lord, for not recognizing that the burdens of work come from human sinfulness, not from the nature of work itself. By the power of your Holy Spirit, restore your image in us that we might find
[00:19:50] fulfillment in work, that we might bless others through our work, and that we would glorify you by the manner in which we work. Lord, hear our prayers. Lord, we're here this morning because you deserve our worship. You are God, and you are good, and what you really deserve is our full
[00:20:37] devotion 24-7 so we pray that during this time what we sing and say and pray would be pleasing to you would bring you honor and glory and would shape the way we live the rest of our lives we stand in awe of who you are the creator of the
[00:21:02] entire universe great beyond what our minds can grasp perfect and pure with all justice and all grace and mercy and we just cannot grasp how it all goes together and yet that's who you are we come also as grateful people grateful
[00:21:29] for all that you have done from creating in the beginning to the way you sustain your creation every day to your works of redemption and salvation in human history for all that you have revealed in and through the scriptures for coming
[00:21:48] the flesh of Jesus Christ, forbearing our sins on the cross and overcoming the power of death itself and the resurrection. We can never be finished giving thanks. Lord, we come to tell you that we love you because you have so completely and perfectly loved us. How could we not respond?
[00:22:20] So with all of that, we come also with our brokenness and the brokenness of the world around us, and we ask your help. You know where there are health concerns, where someone's waiting for word from the doctor, where people are dealing with word that came in and it wasn't what they
[00:22:46] were hoping. You know the ones who need encouragement and strength. You know bodies that need to be bolstered. You know hearts and minds that are shaken and need a firm foundation. You know where there is worry and where there is fear. We pray that you would give peace. You know what's broken
[00:23:21] and in need of healing. You know what's empty and in need of your filling. So we pray that in all these things, you would be at work. At work in ways that not only would bless people, but even
[00:23:41] more so would bring you glory and honor. We thank you that you are with Jonathan and Kendra Stout this morning as they are having their baby boy. I pray that you would keep your hand on them, that
[00:23:57] they would all be happy and healthy and strong and help them be a family that puts a smile on your face, Lord. You know every need in our midst, so we lift it all to you. We trust you to do what's
[00:24:17] right and good in every circumstance because you've shown who you are and because you taught us to bring it all to you in prayer when you taught the words, our Father who art in heaven,
[00:24:30] hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:24:37] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom
[00:24:50] and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Well, at this time, if there are any children in the room between three years old and first grade, now is the time for you to go to meet Miss Carol at
[00:25:03] the back door, and she'll take you out to children's church time. And we'll see you all back in while we're singing our last song. So don't forget where mom and dad are. You'll need to find
[00:25:13] them when you come back in. For the rest of us, we remain in the room, continue to worship God in song. And during that time, if you have your offering with you, you bring it to the altar
[00:25:23] and lay it in the plate. I know some of you give electronically and some of you send it in snail mail, but if you've got it this morning, now is the time to bring it to the altar. Let's worship God.
[00:25:34] I invite you to stand. This is an Easter song.

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:25:39] My sorrow and death, my sin. Lost without hope with no place to be. Your love made a way to let mercy come in. When death was arrested and my life began. Ash was redeemed, only beauty remained. Feet rose to dance, arrested. Oh, your grace is over.
[00:27:05] You can be seated.

[00:30:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:30:37] As we sing these songs of praise, it's important for us to remember exactly who we're singing to and singing about.
[00:30:44] We can come in with all kinds of different ideas, but the Bible, of course, gives us the foundation, and one of the ways in which that has been kind of pulled together was with the ancient creeds of the church, the earliest of which was the Apostles' Creed.
[00:30:58] So let's say that together.
[00:31:00] I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day he rose from the dead,
[00:31:22] he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.
[00:31:27] From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[00:31:31] I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
[00:31:46] Well, through the season of Lent, we've been hearing children's stories all the way through, different story every Sunday. And one of the stories, many of the stories that I learned when I was a kid came from Aesop's Fables. Aesop's Fables is a collection of stories credited to,
[00:32:06] surprisingly enough, someone named Aesop, right? He was a slave and a storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 B.C. His fables were originally oral tradition. He spoke the stories, and they were committed to writing probably three centuries after he lived.
[00:32:31] By that time, a variety of other stories, jokes, proverbs, had been ascribed to him that probably were not his. Some of them had come from much more early times. Some of them had come from
[00:32:44] outside of Greek culture and been gathered in, and some of them came from times a little bit later than him. One of the stories that is thought to have truly come from Aesop was a story called
[00:32:57] The Ants and the Grasshopper. I have a vague memory of my mom reading that story, but it wasn't part of our regular routine. It's not one I heard a lot. So I want to share it with you this morning.
[00:33:16] Settle in, boys and girls. Time for a bedtime story. Don't go to sleep, though, please.
[00:33:23] One bright day in the late autumn, a family of ants was bustling about in warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored during the summer, when a starving grasshopper with his fiddle under his arm came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat. What, cried the ants in surprise,
[00:33:48] haven't you stored anything away for the winter? I didn't have time to store up any food, said the grasshopper. I was so busy making music that before I knew it, the summer was gone. The ants shrugged
[00:34:04] their shoulders in disgust. Making music, were you, they cried out. Very well now, dance. And that's the end of the story. They turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their work. End of
[00:34:22] story. Short, sweet, well, actually not so sweet, but to the point. Clearly, this story is lifting up the values of hard work, diligence, forethought, delayed gratification, and warning against frivolous irresponsibility and idleness. As in, please do not fit the stereotype of a 28-year-old
[00:34:49] playing their video games in their parents' basement, right? Except in San Antonio, there are no basements because there's only six inches of dirt. So, in the parents' guest room, how about that? Some scholars think this story may have been inspired by a couple of passages
[00:35:10] from the Old Testament in the book of Proverbs. And so, the particular lines that they draw from Proverbs. In Proverbs chapter 6, it says, go to the ant, you sluggard. I like that word, sluggard.
[00:35:25] Consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. A few chapters later, chapter 30 in the book of Proverbs. It says, four things on earth are small yet extremely wise. Ants are creatures
[00:35:49] of little strength, yet they store up their food in summer. And of course, if you're wondering what the other three things that are small but wise, they name the hyrax, the locust, and the lizard,
[00:36:02] and other kinds of attributes given to them. But I'll let you look that up. We're focusing on the ant today. It's very small but very wise, hardworking, planning ahead, storing up food.
[00:36:19] Aesop's story communicates that in a very compact way, in a storyline that children and adults can remember and hopefully learn from. But even very early on, people were uncomfortable with the end of that story. It just ends so cold. Turned their back on the
[00:36:44] grasshopper, went back to work. Wow. It bothered people even within a couple of centuries of when it was put in writing. And so they devised other versions of the story that weren't quite so blunt.
[00:37:00] I mean, where is the virtue of compassion, of generosity, and is work all that life is supposed to be about? Yes, hard work and forethought are important, and they're in short supply with some people, but isn't there more? They're not the only values that we ought
[00:37:25] to pursue, are they? I mean, I think of Jesus up on the hillside after he'd been teaching the crowds, and they're hungry, 5,000 people up there. And did he say to them, well, you didn't plan ahead,
[00:37:39] you didn't bring any food, tough. No, he took a few pieces of bread and fish and he shared.
[00:37:51] Are we supposed to be like the ant saying, well, Mr. Grasshopper, dance away your hunger, or ought we be more like Jesus? This singular focus on hard work and diligence is not a recipe for a healthy life. There is no joy in a life that is nothing but work. The workaholic is not
[00:38:15] a healthy person. There's an old saying, and I learned actually doing research for this sermon that it dates back to its first written time, 1659, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
[00:38:31] You've heard that before, haven't you? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and I have known that to be true. My dad, first name was Jack. He grew up in Brownwood, Texas during the
[00:38:49] Depression and World War II. And from a very young age, he always had at least one job and during the summer, two or three jobs. And what he made went into the family kitty. It wasn't for him to have
[00:39:04] fun. Ushering at a movie theater, the only way he ever got to see a movie, digging graves at the cemetery, working on a farm. His whole life was very adult in that way. As an adult, he didn't
[00:39:21] change. He was work-focused. Now, family was important, and so he was almost always home for family dinner, except when work had him traveling out of town. But at the dinner table, the conversation was about work. And if he asked us any questions, it had to do with school, which was
[00:39:43] our work in his way of thinking, never about our friends, never about our hobbies. It was about school. He was work-focused. And confession, I learned workaholism from my dad. Early on in my ministry, I will tell you, I neglected my family. And it never dawned on me, I mean, you know,
[00:40:11] working for God, right? How can that be bad? Until I got to the point where I'd worn myself down, trying to be everywhere and do everything, and then still got complaints from someone who was
[00:40:23] pointing out what I had not done in so many hours of the day. And I realized at that point I was going to have to recalibrate my life. I had to pull back. I had to spend some time, serious time
[00:40:37] with God, and remembering that God never called me to be everywhere and doing everything. There were people who wanted me to, but that wasn't God. Being everywhere and in the middle of everything, that's God's job. And God was making real clear to me, I'm not God. That's part of the importance
[00:41:02] of the Sabbath. Now, we learn about the Sabbath from the creation story. God rested on the seventh day when He had all His work done, and then Exodus chapter 20 when the Ten Commandments are given.
[00:41:14] but then the Ten Commandments are restated in Deuteronomy chapter 5, and the reason for the Sabbath rest given there is a little different. It says, remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
[00:41:31] Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day because you are no longer a slave. Your life is no longer just work. Therefore, observe a Sabbath. Stop thinking that you have to do everything and always be doing, and that the world will not spin on its
[00:41:56] axis anymore if you're not doing. That's God's job, to keep the world going. So to make sure you keep in mind who's God and who's not, you take a day off every week and watch the world
[00:42:13] Keep Going. All work and no play does make Jack a dull boy. My dad's first name, by the way, it's my first name too. Later on, some writers added to that, all work and no play makes Jack
[00:42:35] a dull boy. All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy. A plea for a healthy balance between work and rest, work and play. But there's another aspect of this story of the ants and the grasshopper
[00:42:54] that was troubling from the very beginning and actually led to some revisions of the story later on. What about the value of compassion? The ants told the grasshopper, you're hungry? You were making music while we were working? Go dance now. Is that what Jesus would do? When he sees the
[00:43:18] 5,000 on the hill? Did he say to them, you don't have any food? You didn't plan ahead? Too bad. So sad. No. The text of Scripture says he had compassion, and he fed them. How many places
[00:43:36] in the Bible do we see Jesus had compassion, so he healed their sick? He had compassion, so he cast out the demon. He had compassion, so he met their needs. He had compassion, so he extended grace, not the ants. But compassion, if you're really seriously
[00:44:03] trying to follow Jesus, compassion is not negotiable. It is part of the package.
[00:44:15] Now, the question is raised, and with some justification, if you keep giving to others, won't they just keep taking? Worthwhile question. Aren't they going to just depend on you and keep doing what they've been doing? Won't they decide that working, making a contribution to the world
[00:44:34] is really not necessary because you'll take care of them? And yes, some will do that.
[00:44:43] Some will not. They'll work when they can because they want to make a difference. They have a sense of self-respect. But some will take advantage. Some, if they get a handout, will just be happy
[00:45:01] to take it and take the day off. In fact, studies have shown that while welfare programs offer more and more, it's harder and harder to get unemployed people to take a job because it's not necessary.
[00:45:17] Again, that's not all people, maybe not even a majority, but some. The church in Thessalonica ran across exactly that problem. There were some in the church who, in fact, probably many in the church who expected Jesus to return any moment, and they thought to themselves, if he's coming
[00:45:37] back any moment, why work up a sweat with hard work? Take it easy. He could be here tomorrow.
[00:45:45] If Jesus takes his time, the church will take care of me in the meantime. They took advantage of the compassionate nature of the church. And so Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica. He said,
[00:46:00] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and who does not live according to the teaching that you
[00:46:13] received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were there with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we
[00:46:26] worked night and day, laboring and toiling, so we would not be a burden to any of you.
[00:46:34] We did this not because we do not have a right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.
[00:46:44] For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule, the one who is unwilling to work will not eat.
[00:46:52] or in some translations let those who will not work not eat then he said we hear that some among you are idle and disruptive they're not busy they're busy bodies such people we command and
[00:47:09] urge in the lord jesus christ to settle down and earn the food they eat notice he said those who will not work. Cannot, not cannot, will not. Those who choose not to. A distinction that is vitally
[00:47:36] important. If someone has a disability and cannot work, if the economy is such that no jobs are available, if someone got hit with big medical bills that their insurance won't cover, they've got no way to handle it, then lend a hand. But if somebody is able-bodied, of sound mind, they're
[00:47:55] jobs to be had, we might feel bad about saying no, but how we feel doesn't determine what's the right thing to do. Someone choosing not to work is missing out not only on a paycheck, they're
[00:48:18] missing out on self-respect, on the dignity of doing work that adds value to the world.
[00:48:28] They're missing out on the satisfaction of supporting themselves and supporting their family. They're missing out on having an ability to help other people who are truly in need.
[00:48:41] God created human beings in the beginning and gave them work to do right from the start. Part of being in the image of God is having work to do that adds value to his creation. Those who
[00:48:55] will not work are missing out on a foundational part of what it means to be human. So in a real sense enabling a person who will not work to continue not working is not true compassion.
[00:49:19] It might make me feel better about me, but it's not true compassion. But there are people who truly need help who cannot help themselves, and there are ways that you can do that.
[00:49:35] So I want to just paint a picture of one very real instance. She came with one large suitcase, one small suitcase, one for herself, one for her young daughter. She had a few dollars in her purse
[00:49:50] and nothing else. She had made some bad choices, found herself in a bad situation with a man who totally controlled her life, emotionally abused her, physically intimidated her, threatened her and her child. She survived under his thumb for a while, but when he insisted
[00:50:16] that she prostitute herself and hand over the money to him. That was the end. That was a bridge too far. She ended up hiding from him while living on the streets, but while out there,
[00:50:32] she heard talk of a ministry, a little community tucked out of sight where she could recover and rebuild her life. By asking a few questions, she managed to find them, and from the beginning, it was wonderful, and she breathed a huge sigh of relief. They would have a home and food and safety
[00:50:59] while living in a community with other women and their children doing the same thing, escaping dangerous situations and rebuilding their lives. But she was expected to commit herself to working to build that new life, not just resting and waiting. This was not a free ride with no
[00:51:22] responsibility. She had to put in her time doing chores within the community, cooking, doing dishes, picking up trash, dusting, sweeping, all those kind of common household things. After an initial period to get settled in and get her feet on the ground, she was to get a job and make a little
[00:51:40] money. She was to make use of the counseling that was available through the ministry, so she did not put herself in that kind of relationship again. She was to get instructions about how to parent
[00:51:53] her child in a way that would help their child overcome that early experience, and she must pursue her education, starting at whatever level was necessary so she could gain the tools and the credentials to get a good job. With every new step she took, the community celebrated, and it felt
[00:52:19] so good, made her proud. And the look in her daughter's eyes, wow, made it all worth the effort. When she finally landed an office job in a regional corporation making a good livable income, she and her daughter graduated from the program and were able to get an apartment
[00:52:45] and live their own lives. It was so much better because that part of the image of God in her the working, the contributing to the world was finally being lived out. Now, if you'd like to
[00:53:06] be a part of a ministry that does that, that's Magdalena House. You've heard from us every month about volunteer crew that goes out to work the grounds, the yard, do repairs on fences and homes,
[00:53:21] build Ikea furniture. That's fun. Put up Christmas lights, whatever else is needed, take down Christmas lights after the season. You could be a part of that ministry. There are other opportunities right here at home within the family of Northwest Hills. We don't have unlimited
[00:53:42] resources to do anything and everything, but we do have a fund that is carefully managed, used to help people experiencing one-time emergencies in need of financial help to get over the bridge. Surprise medical bills that aren't covered, help replacing a roof, school
[00:54:00] supplies for kids, any number of things. You could also offer yourself as a driver for our older adult ministries, driver for those who can't drive, help people get to Sunday worship and Sunday school or to the pharmacy or a doctor's appointment or whatever sort of errand it might be.
[00:54:22] There are always ways that you can help those who are in need and in the process show a little bit of Jesus' compassion. So, having thought about these kind of things, let's reimagine the story
[00:54:40] of the ants and the grasshopper. And in fact, it's pretty close to one of the ways that it was reimagined early on. One bright day in the late autumn, a family of ants were bustling about in
[00:54:53] the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer. When a starving grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat. What, cried the
[00:55:06] ants in surprise, haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all summer? I didn't have time to store up my food, whined the grasshopper. I was so busy making music
[00:55:17] that before I knew it, the summer was gone. The ants considered his situation and talked among themselves and offered to the grasshopper, we have some extra food so you can eat with us.
[00:55:34] But we want you to live in our midst and learn our ways where we don't just play, but we work hard so you don't end up in this situation again. Oh, and from time to time, you can play your
[00:55:51] fiddle for us because we could use a little music around here. And so the grasshopper did just that.
[00:56:00] Let's pray. Lord, we are so grateful for the way you created us, shaping us to be like you, made for work, and able to make a contribution to this wonderful creation of yours. Lord, I pray that you would help us make that an important part of our lives, to work and contribute
[00:56:37] and add value to bless other people and mostly to glorify you.
[00:56:43] Lord, I pray that you would help us find time beyond work to rest just as you rested, to be free from work and know that you are the one who keeps this world spinning on its axis.
[00:57:04] And even more, Lord, I pray that you would help us to be a people of compassion that as we meet others who are in need, we might reflect your character to them as we respond.
[00:57:19] We thank you, Lord, and we pray in Jesus' name.
[00:57:22] Amen.

[00:57:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:57:24] Please stand.
[00:57:27] Let's worship together.

[00:57:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:57:38] As you go from this place,

[01:10:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:10:08] remember in whose image you were created.
[01:10:11] Go and reflect that image to the world that he would be glorified.
[01:10:15] In Jesus' name, amen.