What Do Your Children Think About Work?

By Bryan Smith

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines work as “sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result.” If that’s a good definition—and I think it is—then most of our lives are filled with work. We face obstacles and seek to achieve useful results in our jobs, Monday through Friday. But we do similar things at home in the evenings and all day long on Saturdays.

At the moment, however, I’m not thinking primarily about the adults reading this magazine. I’m thinking about the children that those adults are responsible for helping bring to adulthood. Our children’s lives are filled with work as well. Children have to face obstacles every day, and achieving objectives is an experience that’s woven throughout their daily routines. Just think about the words we use to describe the rhythms of a typical school day: seatwork, group work, homework, workbooks, worksheets. A child’s life at school is a life of work. And what do our children think about that?

If your children are like mine, you’ve probably heard a lot of complaining about this topic: “School is too hard.” “We should have more fun.” “Why do we have so much homework?”

But is that what our children should think? I don’t think so.

Work—even hard work—is a good thing. Why do I say that? Because Genesis 1 teaches that we were made to work. In the Creation Mandate, God told the human race to subdue His world and “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). It’s true the word work doesn’t occur in that verse, but the idea is definitely there. You can’t achieve—or even begin to achieve—such a challenging calling without an enormous amount of work. And this, according to Genesis 1, is the reason God created us. We were made to rule over God’s world in His name.

This is also the reason our children study math, science, social studies, English, and all the rest. They aren’t jumping through hoops to get into the college of their choice. According to a biblical worldview, they are preparing themselves to fulfill the Creation Mandate of Genesis 1:28. The whole experience of school is—or should be—designed to develop in students the dispositions, knowledge, and skills that will enable them to live out the dominion commands of the first words God ever spoke to humans. Our students study science so they can manage the physical world God has created for them. They study math so they can maximize the usefulness of the resources God has entrusted to them. They study English so they can communicate with other humans about their God-given responsibilities and opportunities. And they study social studies so they can figure out ways to mesh their dominion endeavors with the institutions of our civilized world.

All this study requires work, and all of it serves the purpose of enabling young people to engage in productive work for all of their adult lives. And why is this important? Because God loves work, and He loves to see His human creatures at work. He worked to bring this world into existence (Gen. 2:2, 8), and He made us in His own image so we could pick up the mantle of work and bear its burdens through good and wise dominion (Gen. 2:15). In fact, work is the chief way in which we declare the glory of God. He’s the one who had the idea to make the rhythms of every week six parts work to one part rest, reflection, and worship. While it is true that we declare God’s glory through our prayers and our hymns, it is also true that we declare His glory through our work. Work matters.

But, of course, there are many challenges. Everything I’ve said so far concerns work as God originally made it to be. Work today—for us and for our children—is not the way it ought to be. It is cursed. Because of our sin, it’s filled with frustration and futility. As God said long ago to Adam and Eve, “Thorns and thistles [the earth] shall bring forth for you” (Gen. 3:18).

How do fallen, sinful humans respond to such fallenness? One common response—common among children in school—is laziness. If the earth is going to put up such a fight (and if it’s destined to win), why bother working so hard? Let’s just focus on having fun, and we’ll all be fine—or at least no worse off. Right?

This is a terribly mistaken way to respond to the fall’s effects on work. We who are responsible for the formation of the next generation need to help young people see work—even in this fallen world—as a good and necessary thing. The Creation Mandate is still in force; we are still called by God to rule over His world (Gen. 3:23; Ps. 8:5-8; Rev. 22:5).

Additionally, we need to help young people understand that working hard can still be rewarding and God-glorifying. When students do their homework, study for a test, or complete a long and difficult project, they are gaining a little bit of mastery over the world God has called them to subdue. Even though this mastery cannot be final in this life, it is a good thing, and it does matter. Why? Because it pleases God by showing Him we are grateful for the high calling He has given to us. And He will show us His pleasure by causing our labor to bear fruit that will encourage us, sustain us, and perhaps even make us wealthy (Prov. 10:4; 12:24; 13:4; 14:23; 22:29). That’s why those who work hard live better (even in a fallen world) than those who are lazy. God makes sure that His creation will serve them well if they will serve Him well.

There is a trend in education these days that Christian teachers and parents need to resist. It is a trend that confuses engagement in learning with having fun in learning. Engagement is very important. Teachers and textbooks need to approach students every day, endeavoring to engage the students in the learning process. Unless the learning captures the students’ attention and draws them in, they will not learn. But that doesn’t mean that learning has to be fun. It certainly needs to be relevant, interesting, and rewarding. But it doesn’t have to be fun all the time. It can’t be. Why? Because it isn’t fun; it’s work. Learning is often difficult, bewildering, and frustrating. It often demands patience and resilience in the face of obstacles that, for a time, seem insurmountable. Some people think that when students are led to face such obstacles, the curriculum has failed because it has placed an unjust burden on the young person. But has it? Perhaps, but not necessarily. It could be that the experience has been carefully designed to prepare students for the real world—a world where work is both difficult and good.

What do your children think about work? It’s likely that all of them struggle to think about it as they should. But it’s my hope and my prayer that by the time they graduate, they will come to embrace an understanding that is biblically faithful. Getting them to that point will not be easy. It will require a lot of work from us. But that should come as no surprise.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Bryan Smith has worked in Christian education for over thirty years. He has been a classroom teacher as well as a textbook author. Currently, Bryan serves as the Director of Biblical Worldview at BJU Press. He and his wife, Becky, have six children.