"Most of our time is in the workplace, and the second highest lump of time is spent sleeping. One-third of our lives! ....The Bible does have something to say about what we do with one-third of our life in this regard, but we don’t hear messages about this." - TIFWE
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (NKJV, Ge 2:15)
In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty. (NASB20, Pr 14:23)
I went by the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of one lacking sense. 31 Thistles had come up everywhere, weeds covered the ground, and the stone wall was ruined. 32 I saw, and took it to heart; I looked, and received instruction: 33 a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, 34 and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need, like a bandit. (CSB, Pr 24:30–34)
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. (NASB20, Ec 9:10)
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (ESV, Col 3:23)
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (ESV, Eph 4:28)
About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more, 11 to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone. (CSB, 1 Th 4:9–12)
"We are looking at our job ... through a shattered mirror where work, in its brokenness, is unrecognizable from God’s original design. And this is where our graduates find themselves soon after adjusting their tassel: not in their dream job" - IFWE
"We must first see that the Bible takes a dim view of idleness. This is clear in how Proverbs speaks of the sluggard. The word is used 14 times in the book of Proverbs; thus painting a clear and unflattering picture" - byFaith
"...profit for business is like breathing for humans—both are necessary for existence, but very few of us claim that respiration is the ultimate purpose in life." - IFWE
"Our work itself is an instrument of God’s grace, pushing back the corruptions of the fall through the influence of God’s character and care that we embody — even in the most pressured, difficult, secular, frustrating, and demoralizing workplaces." - Brian Chapell
"...we more often feel as if work is toilsome, pointless, and fruitless, as if the ground is bearing thorns and thistles just for us. We often believe Genesis 2 while feeling Genesis 3." - TGC
"It may seem foolish to expect believers in every profession to engage in 'rigorous theological thinking,' but such reflection is actually the path of relief and rescue from the daily grind that can seem without meaning or significance." - TGC
