Marriage: God's Rejection of Sexual Immorality

We have been talking about God's purpose in the design of marriage and how it teaches us what sacrificial, godly love really is.  Marriage also helps us to understand God's desire to be one with his people.  Today we are going to move to the "flip side" of this coin and talk about the fact that, by choosing marriage as his design for mankind, God was simultaneously NOT choosing all other forms of sexual expression.  In fact, in His Word, God explicitly denounces all sexuality outside of the context of marriage as immoral.

God did not just happen to choose marriage, he was designing something that had a goodness to it.  Whereas when he rejects other forms of sexuality, he is rejecting "designs" that had inherent ungodliness in them.  Quite simply put, God knew that sexual immorality would not help us to know him better and become one with him.  Instead it would corrupt us further and further until we would want nothing with him.  Let's look at the Scriptures.

God's Rejection of Sexual Immorality is Abundantly Clear

You will want to take a moment to read 2 passages.  The first is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 and the second is found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 15-20.

1 Thessalonians 4:  ³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should learn to control his own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; ⁶ and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸ Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:  ⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God....¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^{[b] 17} But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. ¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

 God cannot be any clearer that to embrace him is to turn away from sexual immorality.  This is clear in the Old Testament and did not change at the cross.  Though Christ's sacrifice covers our sin it does not give us license to sin as we please.

Perhaps at this point we should be clear on what exactly constitutes sexual immorality.  In the Bible sexual immorality is defined as any sexual activity outside of the boundaries of one man and one woman within the context of marriage.  The polygamous marriages that are seen in the scriptures are not promoted and clearly demonstrate problems.  Christ said it best when he said, "From the beginning it was not so."  In the garden God clearly demonstrated his design when he gave one man one woman to be his wife for life.  These are clear boundaries and anything that goes beyond them is sin.  Now, biblically speaking it is not required to be married in a church or by a pastor for that matter.  But it does need to be a public commitment for life between one man and one woman before living together and any sexual activity.

Sexual immorality is so deeply entrenched in our society that we don't think twice about activities that God says are wrong.  Any sex before a lifelong marital commitment is immoral and leads us away from God.  Those who are in "faithful" but serial, sexual relationships are commiting sexual immorality.  Those who treat sex like a good meal and "hookup" with whoever happens to be around and is willing are committing sexual immorality.  They are not following God.  Those involved in solliciting or providing prostitution are sinning.  Those who are having a relationship with someone other than their spouse are committing adultery.  It is rejected by God and he will judge it.  Those who are in homosexual, bisexual, and the list goes on, relationships are not pleasing the Lord.  They are choosing sin and rejecting God.  Now is there forgiveness in Jesus?  Of course there is.  In verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6 Paul states that many of them used to be: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, theives, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners, but God had washed them of that sin, which had defiled them.  That means they had quit expressing their sexuality outside of God's boundaries and had repented of their past.

There are some extremely dangerous attitudes that are so pervasive in our culture that even "christians" are tempted to pretend that they are okay, or even wise.  A common one is this, "wake up and join the 21st century."  As if there wasn't sexual immorality in Paul's day?  Why don't we "wake up" and look at the 1st century and what happened to those who thumbed their nose at God's design and did it "there way."  What we will see is both great and small nations falling apart at the seems and going into history's dust bin.  If we don't wake up now then we will get a rude awakening in the future when we stand before God.

Another dangerous attitude seems more pious.  It is the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy that many churches employ.  I won't pry and for heaven's sake don't tell me you are sleeping with your girlfriend on our way to a revival meeting.  I am not advocating a "spy society" within the church.  But if we stick our head in the sand when fellow "Christians" are involved in blatant sexual immorality then we are going to be held accountable by God as an accomplice.  If you are sleeping with someone not your spouse and then think you can worship God at church without grieving over your sin and breaking off the relationship then you are deceived.  God will not be mocked.  What ever you sow you are going to reap.  When we sow seeds of sexual immorality then we will reap the judgment of God.

So what are God's problems with sexual immorality?  The first is obvious.  We embrace it over the top of his clear statements.  God has said he will judge it.  If we embrace sexual immorality then we put ourselves in danger of judgment.  The second problem is found in 1 Corinthians 6:18.  Sexual immorality destroys a person's body.  It promotes and spreads sexually transmitted diseases that are very unhealthy and can even lead to death.  It leaves emotional scars and wounds in people's hearts and minds.  This then leads to an ever increasing dysfunction within relationships.  The third reason is that it ultimately destroys homes and hearts.  It actively fights against God's design of marriage and brings great sorrow upon partners, kids, and relatives.  It also leads to all kinds of anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness.  When these increase in homes it quickly spreads to our society.  The dysfunction then destroys the cohesion of the nation.  Ultimately the last reason is that it destroys our own soul.  When a person willingly disobeys God it is harmful to their soul.  It hardens them against God and repeated activity in this area can lead to being impervious to God's attempts to reach us.  As we are damaging our soul's ability to be sensitive to God, concurrently we are strengthening our sinful nature.

The sinful nature can be compared to a small infant.  When an infant is small it cries and screams when it is hungry or needs its diaper changed.  Now this is good at first because parents can ensure the child receives the proper care.  However, by the time the child is 6 it has learned that parents tend to jump to "solve the problem" when they cry.  Thus the picture of a child in the store who wants a candy bar.  When a parent says no the child begins to whine about wanting it.  If the parent still says no then this activity may escalate to crying and perhaps a full-fledged fit.  To the degree that a parent lets a child get away with this learned behavior of manipulation, the child will become more and more selfish and less and less reasonable.  Our flesh desires often go out of God's boundaries.  We gorge ourselves on food when we should eat a proper amount.  We watch sinful activities on TV and laugh.  It is not that eating is wrong.  But, when it get's out of bounds of God's design then it becomes destructive, and manipulative.  The more we give into sexual immorality the harder it is to get free from your own fleshly desires.

Christians Must Reject Sexual Immorality In Their Own Life

 We cannot waffle on this issue.  We must be firm within our own mind and recognize that I cannot embrace God and keep holding onto sexual immorality.  This starts with using godly counsel from the Bible and mature believers and being discerning of our culture's ideas.  Society says, "Marriage is a antiquated tradition and it ruins your sex life."  But what does God say?  God actually promotes marriage as a way to protect yourself from the allurement of sexual immorality.  Society says, "If your spouse doesn't make you happy any more than have an affair to spice things up, or just leave them."  But God tells us to flee from sexual immorality and learn to lay down our lives for our spouse.  God calls us to a far greater maturity in our "love."  Even christians might say that sex is fine if you are going to get married or are at least engaged.  But God says that if you are burning in desire so much that you can't wait then get married now.  We need to correct other believers who voice such ideas.

In verse 18 of 1 Corinthians 6 we are told to flee sexual immorality.  This is the idea of seeking safety by getting away from it, just as you would if you were hiking and came upon a mama grizzly and her little cubs.  If you play with it then it will "eat your lunch."  However, we need to flee both externally and internally.  Your thought life is important.  You can't keep thoughts from coming through your mind but you can stop yourself from fantasizing on them.  When you develop a pattern of controlling sexual thoughts and actions it actually develops a strength over a period of time.  Though we shouldn't trust in this "strength" alone, we will develop a wall of safety around us when we control our thoughts and actions.  If you are struggling with sexual desire then ask God to help you find a good, Christian person and marry them.  Do this before moving in with them and having sexual relations.  If you are already married then find ways to protect your marriage from the threat of sexual temptation; whether virtually on the internet or actually in the places you go.  Also, humble yourself so that God can teach you how to truly love you spouse.  Don't be controlled by your emotions.  Rather lay your emotions before the Lord in prayer and ask for his help to be one with your spouse in body, mind and spirit.  To do so will teach you how to be one with Jesus himself.

Let me just close by reminding us of that passage in Romans 1:18-32.  Paul connects the problem of refusing to glorify God to idolatry and sexual immorality.  They come from the same root cause.  If you are embracing sexual immorality then somewhere you have refused to glorify God.  In fact, you have idols in your heart that are more important to you than God.  You may never have made the connection but you have become an idolater.   Our nation has become a nation of idolatry.  We have built layer upon layer and decade upon decade of refusing to glorify God.  The proof is in the pudding, as we look all around us today.  Do not jump in with the world and join them in pleasing the flesh because God will judge.  Let us all repent today and choose to follow the purity of God's plan and design in our life.

Lastly let me simply leave you with this passage in 1 Peter 4:

"¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. ² As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray."

Sexual Immorality

The Design of God in Marriage Part II

 Last week we looked at Genesis and the beginning of marriage.  We saw how marriage was God's idea, not ours.  Adam didn't present a request before God asking for a wife.  God saw Adam's aloneness and created for him a mate.  Thus marriage is something that is good for men and for women.  It gives them companionship and teaches then what real love is.

However, God has a deeper purpose than just helping humans have good relationships together.  He also is teaching us about himself.  We are going to Ephesians chapter 5 today. 

Marriage is a Picture of Christ and the Church

As Paul discusses issues between husbands and wives he takes time to remind them that their marriage serves a greater purpose than just to make them happy and further the human race.  Part of God's design in marriage is to be a living analogy that will give the world a glimpse of the relationship between God and his people.  He reminds them in verse 31 that God's purpose was for marriage to make them "one flesh."  Now becoming one flesh, true, is physical.  But it also has an aspect that is within, that is our mind will and heart. 

Also, it is important that we recognize that this oneness is not a mystical or magical thing that happens once the pastor prays over us or we say our vows.  Sure we may be connected in a spiritual way.  But married people quickly find out that oneness is something that has to be worked towards and maintained.  Marriage has a way of making us face issues that could keep us from operating with one purpose.  However, notice that the oneness is a picture of the oneness of life and purpose that we should have with God (vs. 32).

Now Paul hammers home this oneness in verses 28 and 29 by reminding spouses that just as they take care of their own bodies by nourishing them and caring for them, so, they should care for each other in like manner.  To injure your spouse both physically or emotionally is to injure yourself, which clearly is madness.  We could cynically say that Paul is leveraging them with fleshly motivations, i.e. you are helping yourself to love your wife.  But Paul's argument is far more foundational than that.  He is flatly explaining that this really is the case.  God really has connected you with that other person and how you love them or not, will impact you personally.  It really is a logical no-brainer for Paul.  If God says he makes husbands and wife's "one flesh" than woe to the person who operates from a different mentality.  Jesus warned us of this when he said, "what God has put together let no one take apart."  You really can't even call it wisdom.  It is the practical action following belief in what Scripture says. 

Do you love your spouse like you do your own self?  Notice this is presented not so much as a sexual thing (i.e. nurture/care).  It is a picture of a healthy relationship.  Years ago, Marriage Seminar speaker, Gary Smalley used the analogy of a plant.  He pointed out that there are things that a plant needs to grow and there are things that are detrimental to its growth.  So too we can do things that either help or hinder our marriage.  What are some of the things that are needed in relationships?  We need love, affection, respect, praise, encouragement, forgiveness, and kindness; to name a few.  What are some of the things that are not needed in relationships? We don't need Anger, physical violence, manipulation, harsh words, blame, bullying, nagging etc...  The picture that Gary Smalley gives points out the need to serve one another.  If I only give you what I feel then each of us as plants will quickly wilt, wither, and die.

Now let me challenge you with this.  What if, when you get to heaven, God were to say, "Okay, I am going to reward you by giving you everything you ever gave to your spouse."  How many of us would immediately be thinking that if we had known that earlier we might have been nicer to our spouse?  But isn't this similar to what God is saying here?  When you sacrificially love your spouse you are actually loving yourself and not just in relation to this world.  Don't be a fool and act in a way that would not only bring injury to your spouse, but also bring injury to yourself.  Don't we realize that this is exactly how God loves us?  He nurtures and cares for us like a loving husband.  He has laid down his life out of love for us.  If he doesn't save a people to himself then he will bringing grief, sorrow, pain, and suffering upon himself.

Now, in verse 31, Paul mentions that a husband and wife should separate from their parents and connect with their spouse.  When a member of a marriage refuses to restrain inordinate, parental relations they directly impact their ability to connect to their spouse.  This doesn't mean you have to cut-off all contact and never interact.  However, marriage will teach you when you  is out of bounds.  It will cause trouble in one way or another.  This is intended to teach us about our need to separate from this world in order to cling to Jesus and become of one life and purpose with him.

Notice how Jesus did this for us.  He left his home in heaven to be incarnated on this earth.  He separated from heaven that he might come down and connect with mankind.  Their could be no oneness if he didn't do this.  Now that we have accepted his offer of marriage, he has gone away to prepare a home for us, The New Jerusalem.  If, while we wait for him, we are in love with the things of this world, that unfaithfulness draws us away from the oneness we are supposed to have.  Marriage really has been all about helping us to understand why and how we need to do this.   All of this is so that we can truly understand God's offer of intimacy in Jesus Christ.

Lastly, Paul mentions that Jesus loved the Church by laying down his life for it.  What is it that I need to die to?  What inordinate affections pull on my heart, vying for my attentions, pulling me away from the heart and purpose of Jesus? 

Let me challenge you first within the confines of marriage.  The biggest question in your mind should not be how can I get what I want.  But rather it should be how can I best serve them.  What is it that they really need in order to be what God has called them to be?  We are free to love one another, but Galatians 5:13 says, "Don't use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."  Whether you run from its lessons or not, you will have to face the lessons of love.  In fact even if you do not marry and aren't interested in God, you will have to face the hard facts of love.  Perhaps this is why so many marriages are failing today.  Perhaps, we are just to afraid of what love teaches us about God and his designs towards us.  Perhaps we just don't want to be like him.

Lastly, let us realize that these are pictures of God's love for us.  Let us realize the lengths to which God is willing to go in order to bring us to himself.  Just as a man cares for his new bride, so our Lord Jesus Christ, cares for the Church.  In fact, being God, I dare say he cares for more deeply, because we have great need of learning what true love is.

Ephesians 5:28-33

The Design of God in Marriage

We are going to talk today about how God has designed marriage for a particular task.  It is a tool that he uses to teach us to love by serving.  The song, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, alludes to the idea of a precious gem.  It has many different facets and as you look at each facet from different angles you see different beauty in it.  In a similar way, love bears many different names when viewed from many different angles.  In this way, I would say that serving really is another word for love.  When we desire the well being of another person, we will serve them in many ways.  The response of love always takes on a particular form depending upon the situation.  So that when a young child errs in skill, a parent's love will "Help" them.  Helping really is a form of love.  However, when a young child errs in ethics, love may respond by correction and eventually discipline.  Thus Correcting and Discipline are different forms of love.  In case you have negative feelings associated with these two words, please understand that all good things can be abused.  What I am talking about is that which is truly motivated by love.

Today we are going to start in Genesis 2:18-25.

Marriage is God's Idea

Now as we look at this section we first notice that Adam did not lodge a complaint with God.  "Hey, God, I don't have a mate.  Why don't you do something about that."  Just as Adam himself was God's idea, so too was Adam's wife, Eve.  In an age when it is popular to despise the human race and wish for a world where humans did not exist, it is important to remind ourselves that humans were God's idea.  However, God first creates Adam without any other humans.  He is not technically alone- there are animals, and God to keep him company- but he is alone.  We don't know if Adam felt lonely but we do know that God purposefully made Adam to be alone before he gained a companion.  God didn't do this with the animals.  Now how long Adam was alone is not stated here, but from the overall creation account it appears that later that day Eve is created.  When Eve is finally presented to Adam she is called his wife.  This was the first marriage and the beginning of the concept that a man and a woman would come together to be one.

Not only is marriage God's idea, but I also want us to see that God purposefully created humans with a complementary design.  This is true both physically and emotionally.  This complementary design practically forces us to come together in many different ways: socially, professionally, sexually, and protectively.  God seems to have designed aspects to humanity, in which, no individual has all of them.  From a gender standpoint he made men and women, male and female.  There is an evident physical design and generally a comparable internal compelling that awakens at a certain age.  It is clear from creation that God could have made us androgynous and we could have procreated asexually.  But this would not have fit his purposes.  But this is not true only on a physical basis.  From brains to brawn, and from introvert to extrovert God has made us to "need" each other socially.  All of us, even the most talented, are not an island unto themselves.  We have been created to link with other humans.  The most intimate link of course is marriage.

I will take a brief moment to mention that the founding father's of our nation (U.S.A.) understood a concept called Natural Law.  They believed that by looking at nature (its design and function) you could see the mind and plan of God.  Such laws would govern all of nature and be truly universal.  Thus Natural Law would argue that the physical design of a man and woman clearly demonstrates that God intended men and women to to be intimate with one another.  Therefore, Natural Law would dictate that a man and a woman have the right to come together in an intimate relationship that we call marriage.  Now, further we can deduce from the fact that they are two separate beings that they should both be free to self-determine who the other partner will be.  Thus a man and a woman have the right to marry whom they will, as long as that other person agrees.  I take time to mention this because the current "Gay Marriage" debate that is happening in our country itself flies in the face of both Natural Law and Biblical Revelation.  It is clear from design and function that a man was not meant to be intimate with a man and neither for a woman to be intimate with a woman.  Thus Natural Law would not dictate that they have the right to be intimate with one another.  Also, we have an even higher statement from God himself revealed in Scripture that it is not what he intended.  Thus God tells us what he intended both explicitly (in the Bible) and implicity (in the design and function of men and women).

Now, as I said, it is clear that marriage was God's idea and he was the one who provided the answer for Adam.  In fact, God, as the Creator of everything, is the great provider of all that we could lack.  We often talk about miracles as if they are from God and everything else is from nature.  Nope, it is all from God.  Isn't nature just an infinite amount of miracles that God did in advance and have been waiting around for thousands of years till you could experience them?  All aid and help ultimately comes from the Lord, whether there is a "natural" explanation or not.

Now God knew Adam was alone and would become lonely.  So he creates Eve.  Here we have the first surgery, which is performed by God himself.  The Bible doesn't go into the specifics of why God pulled a rib out of Adam and somehow made Eve from it.  He could have made Eve from the dirt just like he did Adam.  But instead, God wanted Adam to have a clear illustration that he was missing a part of himself, and Eve would be the way to have it back.  In fact, it could be better than the rib.  God here becomes the Father of the bride as he brings Eve to Adam.

We can also see how the design of procreation puts kids in the care of a man and woman who created them within a loving relationship.  This ability to bring into the world other humans is a gift from God. Even though we may be able to go around the design through technology, this will not remove the hard-wired need to be in relationship with someone.  However, notice how a child goes from clinging to parents to one day separating from them.  A child when it is young is vulnerable and clearly is not designed to take care of itself.  If humans abandon their young at birth then the baby will die.  All of this comes from God and was his design and fits his purposes in our life.

Next week we will focus more on that purpose.  But let it suffice to say that we may abuse marriage and misuse it.  We may fight against the things it is trying to do in our life.  In that sense we are fighting against the purposes of God.  Marriage was designed to help man know himself better (I am selfish and proud in heart) and know God better (God is a loving servant and humble in heart).

Could A Job Be The Oldest Institution?

Bible passage:  Genesis 2:7-9,15 and Genesis 3:17-19

Next week we are going to be talking about marriage and how God uses it to teach us to lovingly serve.  Marriage has been noted as an institution that is so old that God is the one who started it in the Garden of Eden.  Well there is another institution that God started in the garden and, in fact, he started it before he started marriage:  a job.  Yes that's right.  You heard me correctly.  God gave Adam a job before he gave him a wife.

The reason I want to start here is because it is important for us to understand that these things are not just the ideas of men.  It has come from the mind of God. 

Man Was Created to Work.  It is not Bad or Evil.

God didn't just plop Adam in the "wild" (Survivor-style), but rather, he made one place into a garden.  We are not told how large this place was.  But it was already ordered and fixed up by God himself.  After describing this garden and the rivers that watered it, Genesis 2:15 tells us this:

 "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it."

These words are very clear that God intended Adam to work and labor in this garden.  Even before the fall, the earth needed to be worked in order for it to give greater and more regular produce.  It also makes clear that Adam needed to take care of the garden and nurture it.  I don't know if God discussed the finer points of pruning with Adam, but the idea of care is clear.  Thus Adam was put in an area that could clearly sustain himself and his future family.  God already had in mind that Adam would "be fruitful and multiply," and fill the earth.  The garden would serve as the base of operations for this endeavor.  Also this job would clearly be for his own benefit and the benefit of his family.  As humans they would need to eat and taking care of the garden would ensure a plentious supply of food.

Thus the first job was given by God to a man before The Fall.  The first job involved work.  So if you have this idea that when we go to heaven we will not have to work anymore you are probably wrong.  Though work itself is not a result of the curse, our work was affected by the curse.  In Genesis 3:17-19 we see that God does not directly curse Adam.  In other words, he didn't make his muscles smaller or his intellect dumber.  Rather he indirectly curses Adam by putting a curse on the earth.  The ground that he has been working will no longer work with him as it was designed to do.  Rather, it will resist along with the other aspects of nature.  We do not know scientifically what God did to change the world, but clearly all of creation was affected.  Because of The Fall, work now would be difficult and filled with grief and sorrow.  This is why we labor with this sense that things are fighting against us.  We might inwardly think, "God, what do you have against me?"  But, this is only partially right.  Yes, God did put the curse on the earth.  But before we blame him we must ask why he did so.  It was our action that caused the curse to be given.  We have no one to blame but ourself and to stubbornly persist in blaming God is itself wrong.  Even people who seem to have no problem at work and everything goes well are fighting a resistance.  They may be overcoming that resistance better than us.  But, still, they deal with it.  We all have to deal with a world that is not cooperating with us to the fullest degree.  We talk of "Murphy's Law" because we recognize this principle to be true.

Many large corporations will develop complex systems and procedures to minimize the affects of the curse.  But as you develop these systems and procedures you realize that the resistance comes from somewhere else and generally is of a greater nature.  You cannot get rid of it.

Now here is the good news.  The Bible tells us in Romans 8:18-23 that God had a purpose in making our work more difficult.  Vs. 20 tells us that God subjected  the creation to futility in the hope of a coming deliverance.  The curse would continually remind us of where "our way" has taken us.  It will continually lift our eyes to heaven in prayer for a day that the curse would be lifted.  In fact God has promised such a day for us.  Any parent who punishes a child for misbehavior does not do so forever.  There is a certain learning that must happen and then the punishment can be lifted.  Mankind has done much labor over these millennia that we have had.  During that labor God is trying to teach us something about ourselves, our thinking, our need of Him, and His promise to us.  Just as the First Adam was created a living being so Jesus, the Second Adam, came forth as a life-giving spirit.  When we embrace Jesus as God's "solution" or answer to our condition, we become a son of God.  The revelation of these "sons of God" will happen at a time when the curse is removed.  In fact, Paul said in verse 18:

"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Yes, God knows that presently work is difficult, life is difficult.  In the midst of much we could call good, we are surrounded by that which makes things sorrowful and grievous.  In fact, we ourselves are often the source of such grief.  But a day is coming when a glory will be revealed in those who belong to God.  In that day we will look back at the time of our suffering as a light thing which is easy to take, in light of the joy and glory we will have then.  Now this might not make you FEEL better today.  But it does give us a hope.  A hope that is based upon God himself.

Some Lessons of Work

 So if work is supposed to be teaching me things about myself and God then perhaps I should pay more attention to what it is saying.  There is no way that we can exhaust this subject, but I believe it would be helpful to walk through some of those "teachings" that work and jobs try to teach us.

Let's first look at the area of "Working for Yourself."  The ultimate of life to be self-empoyed and not have to answer to any boss.  However, if you have ever "worked for yourself" you know that it is a bit of a misnomer because somehow others are always involved in our work.  If you are providing a service or product to a customer, you learn pretty quickly that, even though you don't have a "boss," the customer, their wants and desires, take on a much more vague and harder to read "boss-like" influence in your life.  The statement that the customer is always right, is of course untrue.  But it demonstrates the pickle in which self-employed people find themselves.  The difficulties of a job are teaching us something about life and sin and people.  Even if we put a person out in the wilderness with a farm only working for themselves, we still will find that work teaches us something.  It will teach you that you can't do everything.  Many who are gifted in one area have huge gaps of skill in other areas.  At some point you will see that if you tailor your work to fit with the work of others, then you can help each other.  In all of this work teaches us to serve each other, and to serve together.

When you work for a boss you better learn your own duty to God.  And, when you work to serve a customer, you come to understand God's care for us better.  In no way is this teaching process perfect.  People labor long not learning these things.  So I encourage you to pay attention and give greater focus to what life is saying to you through your work.

Another area to look at is how Jesus and the disciples used jobs in their teachings.  The parables of Jesus are full of good and bad examples of workers.  They are intended to warn us about how we live and work in this life.  He used these work scenarios as a picture of us spiritually being held accountable to our heavenly boss, God the Almighty Father.  

In 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, Paul warns them, "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."  Early Christians were very strong in loving each other and caring for each others needs.  It didn't take long for some to attempt to take advantage of such largesse.  Paul made it clear that though we serve people, it is no service to do for them what they ought to do for themselves.  Thus if a man works hard and yet for various reasons is not making it or, his boss rips him off etc..., believers will help each other and meet those needs.  But if a man doesn't work at all and keeps showing up at your house or church office desiring a hand out then at some point you realize, I am not truly helping this person.  For their own good I have to say no.

In 1 Timothy 5:8 Paul says that those who do not provide for their family have denied The Faith and are worse than an unbeliever.  Those are very strong words.  Now let me make sure you understand them.  The word provide here is not about success and ability.  It is a word that is about intention and desire.  It literally means "to look out for, to look ahead for."  Thus you may be working your head off and your kids don't have very nice clothes.  You may say to yourself, "I'm not a very good provider."  And, thus believe that you aren't a very good follower of God.  But throughout history Christians have been in many different situations.  In some of them Christians were very poor and couldn't provide in the sense of creating a certain quality of life.  But there are more important things then designer clothing, and latest tech fads.  A believer looks out for every aspect of their family.  It is about diligent, desire and work not the amount of paycheck you get for that.  Let me give a good example of what Paul is talking about.  If a man who has a business finds out that his senior parent has had a stroke and the believers in his community are taking care of him then he decides not to step in and shoulder that responsibility, he is denying the faith of Christ.  Another example, if a man spends all his money at the bar and casino and his family goes without then he is denying the faith.  In fact we could feed our kids the best food and give them the greatest toys, but if we do not teach them spiritually about God and life, we are denying the faith.

Now I am going to end with some rapid fire lessons from the book of Proverbs.

1. Prov. 12:11-  Put work before fantasy and play.
2. Prov. 1:30f-  Reject quick money schemes, and instead work hard and diligently.
3. Prov. 6:6f-  Don't be lazy.  Get out of bed and work.
4. Prov. 22:7-  Borrowing is not a good thing.
5. Prov. 21:17-  Don't consume all your work, save for the future.
6. Prov. 15:22-  Get good advice from multiple sources about work and life.
7. Prov. 19:2-  Work steady and careful.  Haste makes waste.

 In the end we all need to be careful and listen to what our work is teaching us.  Every time something goes wrong or bat at work or in our plans at life, we should spend some time trying to figure out what it is teaching us.  It is a mistake to say, "God must hate me, I'm no good.  I should just quit."  When we have this attitude of offense we will shortcut ourselves from learning what God wants to teach us.

Instead, as a son to a father, we need to ask, "God, what are you telling me about you and mankind's fallen condition?  And, what are you telling me about myself?  And, what are you telling me about the future hope to which you are bringing us?"  The answers are not always readily apparent.  Sometimes we see it better in the rearview mirror.  Either way we must remain focused and do the work that God has gifted us to do because it will teach us the depths of loving service.