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What does the Bible say about work? Before the fall, God gave some commandments to Adam and Eve that outlined their tasks pre-sin in Genesis 1:28-29.

Be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and have dominion over the creatures there, and eat fruit and vegetables. Work sounds so simple, doesn’t it? It sounds like a vacation! Then, sin entered the world, and we get the passage about work found in Genesis 3:17-19.

So now, due to sin, work is hard. It’s painful! And rather than man having dominion over the earth, now the earth seems to have dominion over him. Quite the contrast from the work described in Chapter 1.

The writer of Ecclesiastes echoes the pain found in work in Ecclesiastes 2:22-25.

I don’t know about you, but that sentence, “Even in the night his heart does not rest,” really really resonates with me. I stress out a lot. Far more than I ought to. About everything. Ecclesiastes is my favorite book of the Bible because it acknowledges that reality. I feel like the writer knew my heart and my head precisely. There was one time in my life where I was so stressed out that I would sit awake in bed and read the entire book of Ecclesiastes before going to sleep, and I did that for several nights in a row. It never failed to calm me down. Some people find it depressing, but I find it amazingly comforting. I’ll show you what I mean in this next passage.

So that passage in Chapter 2 indicates we’re supposed to find enjoyment in our toil, even though it would seem that the pain of our toil is part of the curse given to Adam. How can we find peace and satisfaction in spite of the curse? What do we gain from work? Read Ecclesiastes 3:9-15.

I think there’s a reason verses 14 and 15, which talk about God’s role in this process, come right after the part that reiterates that we should take pleasure in our toil. This is just my interpretation of this passage, but I think verses 14 and 15 are the “how” that answer my earlier question.

When I see that passage, it’s clear that I’m supposed to just chill out. God is in control, and I’m not. I’m here to enjoy the work and to be in the moment with it. Sometimes I can get my sights so set on success that it’s all I see. I can start thinking that success is the reward for my work, and that I’m unrewarded if I don’t have success. It seems Ecclesiastes is telling us that the reward for work is not success. Success is in God’s hands, so success is God’s reward, not mine.

My job is to be joyful and do good. Isn’t that refreshingly simple? It’s something I can wrap my head around and keep my sights on. So be joyful today. Work with joy, and do good, knowing that you can’t add anything to or remove anything from God’s work. We’re here because He added us to this task, and because of that, we’re perfect for the job.