Whether it’s bumper stickers about “working to live not living to work,” or the glorified picture of a comfortable retirement as the ultimate goal of American success, our children rarely get a picture of work that paints it in a good light. And yet work was given to Adam and Eve in the garden before the fall, and the Bible speaks of work as a good thing. Here are a few ideas you may find helpful to spark a Biblically informed discussion with your sons about God’s attitude toward work. These could be useful while driving in the car or as an after dinner discussion topic.
- Read Colossians 3:23-24 and Ephesians 6:7. Here we are told that we’re working for Jesus. How does this help us desire to do excellent work?
- Read the Beatitudes with your son (Matthew 5:1-12). Ask him how he could implement some of the Beatitudes as a business owner or leader.
- Read Genesis chapter 2 together (especially verse 15). Was work to be done before the fall when the world was a perfect place? What does this tell us about the goodness of work?
- Read 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12. Discuss as a family what we can learn about how God views laziness and work from this passage. What are the consequences of laziness?
Make sure you recognize your son’s hard work, especially when he goes above and beyond his past performance in a job or role. Let him know that you are happy with his work and that God is pleased when we honor Him in all we do.