Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.
- Deuteronomy 5:13-14
You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
- Psalm 128:2
I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
- Proverbs 24:30-34
Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.
- Proverbs 12:24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
- Colossians 3:23-24
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
- Ephesians 4:28
And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
- Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.
- Proverbs 20:4
The Lord said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”
- Numbers 8:23-26
Boilerplate
I’m Harold Dykstra. I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story. My time is well spent. A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel. I did not know she was an angel at the time. The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone. And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy. She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others. She changed my life.
In her leaving, she said someone would come. I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived. While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.
This Week’s Question
Last week, Babs denied that she was a witch and was going to put our granddaughter in the oven. Nope, she was going to eat her up, raw.
But this was Labor Day. I was sitting in a lounge chair on the back porch, doing the most work that I had done since the sun came up. I was watching the shadows lengthen in the afternoon sun.
Babs came out onto the porch and sat on the lounge chair next to mine. “Harold, have you done anything all day?”
I protested, hmmm, I should add protesting to the list. “I got out of bed. I brushed my teeth. I did my morning ablutions. I got dressed. And about the time the sun was coming up, I came out to the back porch. And I am presently supervising the shadows as they get longer. I have had a busy day, Babs. It is Labor Day. A day to celebrate the laboring worker by not laboring.”
Babs sighed, “That makes no sense at all. When did Labor Day get started? And who started it?”
I wanted to shrug, but that seemed too much effort. “As for the when, the first Labor Day parade was in New York City in 1882, but it was not until 1894 that it became a holiday. As to who established the holiday, it depends on whether you spell Maguire with an ‘A’ or a ‘C’.”
Babs replied, “I don’t know what planet you are from, Harold. I spell McGuire with an ‘M’.”
I sighed. I thought sighing was not too much effort. “Babs, I am referring to the second letter in the name. I know if I just said the second letter, you would say that was ‘B’. Peter McGuire with a “C” was a general secretary with the carpenter’s union and he claimed to have established the first Labor Day. But Matthew Maguire with an ‘A’ claims to be the first. In recent research, it seems the latter has a slight edge. But Maguire was in the machinists and was the secretary for the Central Labor Union. Peter McGuire later became a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor. But they had their first parade in 1882, both Peter and Matthew attending, but it was Grover Cleveland who signed it into law that it would be a national holiday in 1894. So, you can take your pick as to when it got started and who started it.”
Babs sighed, “That was before my time. Did you enjoy that first Labor Day parade?”
I groaned, “Nope, my mother had me in the kitchen, scrubbing the oven. I kept telling her that it was a day off from your labors, not a day to do labor.”
Babs snickered, “Oh, you poor dear. But God did not create Labor Day. He says that we were to work six days and then we were to rest on the Sabbath. How did we get to a five-day work week?”
I moaned, “That came later. There were some unions in New York that complained that the Jewish Sabbath did not coincide with the Christian day of worship. So, to stop the bickering, the workers of those unions went to a five-day work week. Others followed suit when they saw fit. But in the early 1920s, Henry Ford argued that with a two-day weekend, his workers would be more productive the other five days, and they would have enough time to go to market and spend their money. Thus, it was a move on Ford’s part to boost the economy, and maybe some of that consumer buying would include a Ford automobile. But then, it was not until 1938 that the law was established for a 5-day work week. That was in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Of course, in 1938 the USA was trying to emerge from the Depression, and the focus was on boosting the economy more than productivity or worker fatigue. And at the time, the focus was that one day would be for worship and the other was for relaxation or getting chores and shopping done. A lot of states had blue laws to prevent commerce on Sunday.”
Babs giggled, “So, you are saying that you are enjoying the fruit of your labor. Your prosperity and blessings, as it says in Psalm 128?”
I sensed a Bible study, but we had not had supper yet. “Yes, Babs, I am enjoying the fruit of my labor.”
Babs laughed, “I hope so because what I have seen today is a lot of a sluggard getting a little sleep. If your hands are diligent, you are fine, but lazy and you end up with forced labor. That’s Proverbs 24 and 12.”
I smiled, “My hands are quite diligent the rest of the year. Give me a break. It is Labor Day. The savings that provide our needs were hard earned. And my Social Security check is staying one step ahead of the bills. When we work at food banks, I put my heart into it, as your research probably found in Colossians 3. As Ephesians 4 states, I am working, even in retirement.”
Babs replied, “But First Thessalonians 4:10-12 talks about working with your hands. What I see is some very soft hands. At least I pack the boxes when the recipients come for the food bank distribution. You just talk.”
I countered, “Ecclesiastes says we should be satisfied in our toil. That may not mean we are satisfied in the fruit from that toil. Sometimes that is uneven. Sometimes a wild storm wrecks the crop. I had a friend that saved a multimillion-dollar project, and he was laid off upon his return. Saving the income did not save his job. But he definitely had saving that project at the top of his accomplishments when he put his resume together. Our satisfaction is knowing that we did our best. That goes back to Ephesians 4. If we do not do our best, it is like we are stealing when we collect our paycheck. And before you crow too much about working with your hands, who is it that opens the cases of canned goods and helps stock the shelves in the middle of the week, and even breaks down the boxes? Hmmm?”
Babs huffed, “You and your perfect way of breaking down boxes. Nice and square in stacking the cardboard, easy to reassemble, yeah, yeah. We appreciate your engineering experience, dear. But for the person who just wants to smash a box that is going to the recycle center anyway, let them get their frustrations out. But thinking of Second Thessalonians 3 and Proverbs 20, I remember the first thing you said when I came out here. You did all these things, but you did not cook supper.”
I smiled, “I did not mention that because I used both of our crock pots. I have calico beans with ground turkey and pulled pork and bacon in one slow cooker and country ribs in the other. And if I am not mistaken, I smell the aromas of both dishes on your fingers. I started cooking before dawn. I worked within the last twenty-four hours. I do not need to go to bed hungry. Besides, all this Labor Day is meaningful to the people who are still working. The two of us are both retired.”
Babs said, “From a biblical sense, there is no such thing as retirement. Numbers 8 says that Levites who are fifty-years-old and helping with the tabernacle can retire from the back breaking work, but then they supervise and advise the youngsters. There is nothing in the Bible about not working except for Sabbaths: days, months, years. Jesus said to spread the Gospel and there are no time limits.”
I laughed, “Okay, I think we have had a good Bible study before the meal tonight, but if I continue to smell your fingers without getting some food myself, I am going to be tempted to lick your fingers.”
Babs gasped, “I have never had anyone do that. This might be fun. Lick away, big boy.” She scrunched her nose and smiled. Supper could wait a few minutes. It was not filling, but it was fun for both of us.
Credits
All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife. We would talk about anything and everything. And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.
I have cooked both of those dishes in slow cookers, and the entire house picks up the aroma. I like experimenting with calico beans, and I have used a few recipes as guides, rarely measuring anything. I do not fix it that often because I usually gain a few pounds by the time that I have finished the leftovers.
Happy Labor Day
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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