“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 3:15 NIV
In this simple verse at the very beginning of man’s tenure on earth, God sets a precedent for all of mankind who will follow Adam. We are to work, and that work involves interacting with God’s creation, working it and taking care of it. We work it by using the gifts, talents and skills that God has given us and applying them to the elements of creation in order to solve a problem, benefit mankind, and bring a higher order of organization to the world.
Then, God gave Adam his first task under the charge to ‘work the garden.’ He told him to name the animals, and then worked with him to complete that task. God brought Adam the animals, and Adam named them. Teamwork! In these early days of creation, God created the precedent for all the generations that would follow. God would create a task and then work with the individual to complete it.
In Adam’s time, the first problem to be solved was to create a language so that he could talk about things with God and with his soon-to-be-created partner, Eve. Down through the ages, as mankind has multiplied, and our knowledge of creation expanded, the sophistication of our ‘work’ has grown continually more complex and nuanced. Today, we are more likely to create a cell phone app, develop a marketing plan, lead a business organization – or accomplish one of the millions of tasks necessary for mankind to continue. And, while the focus and details of our work has evolved, some things have remained. Work is so important to God that it is the first thing mentioned regarding Adam, and the first command to Adam.
God can meet us under any circumstances. However, He made work as the first venue in which he would engage with mankind. He set the precedent with Adam — He would prepare tasks for mankind, and then work with them to complete those tasks. Before Eve, before prophets, before Scripture, before churches, God created work. Humans are instilled with an aptitude for work and a propensity to seek it out. The drive to work – to interact with God’s creation to solve problems and benefit mankind – is knitted into our DNA.
And that places those of us involved in the leadership of business right smack in the middle of God’s first priority for mankind. We aren’t just about making money, we are significant players in God’s plan for mankind, working out his challenge to us in our generation – applying our unique combination of life experience, knowledge, wisdom, skills and aptitudes to the problems we see around us, and in so doing, we benefit mankind, and bring glory to God.
—Dave Kahl
