The Bible not only has much to say about money and possessions, but it also addresses the subject of work in substantial detail. Work has intrinsic value because God ordained it prior to the entrance of sin into the world. If you look at the 鈥渂ookends鈥� of the big story of the Bible (creation (the way things ought to be) 鈥� fall (the way things are) 鈥� redemption (the way things could be) 鈥� consummation (the way things will be)), work is prominent in the accounts of creation and consummation, when the Kingdom comes in its fullness. Specifically, if you look at the first 鈥渂ookend鈥� in the Genesis account of creation, you will see that God commanded Adam and Eve to work the garden before sin entered the picture (1:28, 2:15).

God did not condemn human beings to work as a consequence of the entrance of sin. Work is not a punishment on human beings for their sin. To be sure, work was affected by the fall into sin, making it more arduous and stressful, and less productive, but that was not the original design (3:17鈥�19). God鈥檚 original idea for work was that human beings would spend their lives in productive activity, with regular breaks for leisure, rest, and celebration of God鈥檚 blessing (Ex. 20:8鈥�11). Even in the pre-fall paradise, God put Adam and Eve to work. Work was a part of God鈥檚 original design for human beings from the beginning, and because of that it has intrinsic value to God.

If you look at the other 鈥渂ookend鈥� of biblical history, work will also be a part of the world after Jesus returns and the Kingdom has come in all its fullness. For example, the prophet Isaiah envisions the world after Christ鈥檚 return as one in which nations 鈥渨ill beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks鈥� (Isa. 2:4). The obvious point of the passage is to show that universal peace will characterize the kingdom when it is fulfilled. But what often goes unnoticed is that weapons of war will be transformed into implements of productive work (plowshares and pruning hooks). That is, there will still be productive work when Christ returns to bring his kingdom in its fullness. So work has intrinsic value because it was ordain