The "Curse" of Work?

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Genesis 2:15

Many people question the idea that heaven would be a "good" place because they believe it would be "boring" to sit around on clouds playing harps for eternity. First of all, heaven is never described that way in the Bible. It is one of many cultural myths about Christianity which exist among the biblically illiterate. In this verse, I hope we can dispense with another such myth, the myth that work was part of God's punishment for sin.

This verse is clear. Work was God's idea for the better health of His prize creation, man. Man was given specific duties to work the garden. The word used meant work in a general sense, but here it meant to "dress" the garden or even to "serve" the needs of the garden. God planted the garden. It was man's duty to both work it, and to "keep" it. The word translated to "keep" meant generally to "protect" or "attend to" the garden itself. He was to be a tender of those plants for both the sake of their existence and for his continued existence. The first man was to be the grand gardener in the most spectacular of gardens. Flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables of untold beauty and productiveness. It was the man's work to "keep" what God had begun by the creation of the Garden of Eden. Man was to be the "caretaker" of the piece of God's creation where he lived. That is how it was to be then. That is still how it is today.

Your joyfully loquacious believer
LEE