worship guide
Labor Day
Explore our sermon prep and service planning resources for Labor Day!
Labor Day Resources
God Cares about How Workers Are Treated
The fact that there is a basic expectation of an 8-hour work day, a 5-day work week, a 40-hour work week, minimum wages, and that children are not to be part of the labor force are relatively recent developments in the United States. They are the legacy of political labor movements with far-reaching consequences over the last 100 years. They secured an unprecedented degree of family stability and prosperity for the post-war period, but the most recent generations (from Gen-X on) have enjoyed this stability less and less over the course of only a few decades (and political administrations on both Left and Right). There is room for disagreement about the politics, but it is hard to see how the erosion of protections for workers is something agreeable to the teaching of Scripture on the relationships between workers and their employers.
There is sometimes an attitude in American culture that work is work and religion is religion, and they don't mix. Some of this comes from the relatively popular view among some in the business world that sole responsibility of a business is to maximize its profits (see article by Milton Friedman). The problem is that this is diametrically opposed to the message of Scripture.
You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy... You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin. (Dt 24:14-15, ESV)
‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?' ...Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. (Is 58:3-4, ESV)
Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages. (Jer 22:13, ESV)
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail... You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. (Jas 5:1-6, ESV)
Injustice against laborers was one of the stated reasons for the stated reasons for the exile and is arguably part of the reason for Jesus' camel/needle simile (Lk 18:25). This is not a left vs right issue. This is a Christian issue.
So, while Labor Day is a secular holiday, there is an opportunity to help your congregation see it through the lens of Scripture:
Work and rest: the Sabbath is introduced in the creation account itself and is integral to the Mosaic covenant. Extensions to the Sabbath like the Jubilee also say something about the way God wants us to view work, rest, and justice. Further, Jesus' commentary on the Sabbath is a critical adjustment to how we see it.
The prophetic voice: the warnings of the prophets against Israel have a lot to do with business practices. Some are mentioned above—but it goes beyond just how workers are treated. Just dealing in work matters to God.
The Biblical view on wealth: why does the Bible have so many warnings to the wealthy? How does it relate to fair treatment of laborers and others in business?
There is plenty of room for imagination and the leading of the Spirit here. Who are your congregation? What is their experience of work? Where are their temptations to overwork or injustice in business? Where are they likely to be the recipients of injustice and how should they respond?
