Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Is Work a Curse?
Is Work a Curse?
Mar 28, 2026 4:15 PM

Is work a curse, a result of mankind’s fall from grace? Not according to the Book of Genesis. As Hugh Whelchel, Executive Director of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, explains, what Adam was called to do in the garden is what we are still called to do in our work today:

Humanity was created by God to cultivate and keep God’s creation, which included developing it and protecting it.

You see, we were created to be stewards of God’s creation through our work. The opening two chapters of Genesis provide a foundation for how God sees work, culture, and our responsibility. This same perspective extends throughout all the Scriptures.

Work is not a curse but a gift from God given to us before the Fall. By our work we employ useful skills to glorify God, love our neighbors and further God’s Kingdom.

Work is not a result of the Fall, as many incorrectly believe. Although the Fall, because of its curse, made it inevitable that sometimes work is frustrating and difficult (Genesis 3:17-19).

Read more . . .

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Chafuen celebrates Catalan critic of socialism
Jaime Balmes was a young Catalan priest who died 170 years ago and is largely forgotten today. But Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, believes that Balmes deserves more attention for his economic ideas and his critiques of socialism. Balmes was a priest, not an economist; nonetheless he contributed greatly to the intellectual history of Spain with his ideas on marginal utility and the paradox of value. Balmes, Chafuen writes, “tried bine the best theology with the best science.” Unfortunately,...
6 Quotes: Judge Brett Kavanaugh on law, liberty, and the U.S. Constitution
Earlier this week, President Trump announced he has nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. In honor ofthe nomination, here are six quotes by Judge Kavanaugh on law, liberty, and the Constitution: On the Judiciary and the Rule of Law: “I believe very deeply in those visions of the rule of law as a law of rules, and of the judge as umpire. By that, I mean a neutral, impartial judiciary...
Pahman to First Things: Markets are not inherently destructive to the soul
In “Origami of the Soul,” published recently by First Things, Timothy Reichert and Francis X. Maier argued that “hierarchical institutions” are needed to spiritually form the individual and that markets not only cannot form the individual, but also damage the institutions that would seek to. Institutions like marriage, the church, the military, take part in “folding” our souls into maturity, resulting in plex, and plementary shapes.” Markets, they argue, are impersonal and the increasing temptation of greater wealth draws people...
Corporations: moral, immoral, or amoral?
Is the free market moral? To hear its opponents describe it, the free market is an unethical system that exploits workers, consumers and the environment to make a quick buck. To critics such as Marx, capitalism leaves “no other bond between man and man than naked self-interest,” replacing human connections with cost-benefit analyses and supply-and-demand charts. Despite its detractors, capitalism is a system that allows for the continued growth of wealth across the globe, and to quote Jonah Goldberg of...
Radio Free Acton: Discussing the importance of free elections; Upstream on ‘Incredibles 2’
This episode of Radio Free Acton starts with another Transatlantic Intelligence segment, hosted by Senior Editor at Acton, Rev. Ben Johnson. Rev. Ben talks with Juan Pina, Secretary General of the Foundation for the Advancement of Liberty in Madrid, Spain on the Foundation’s World Electoral Freedom Index which ranks the nations of the world on the freedom of their electoral processes. They discuss the importance of free elections to a well functioning democracy and what goes into making elections free...
After Janus, new models for labor relations
“The U.S. Supreme Court took a significant step toward restoring individual liberty in the government-sector labor market with its recentJanusdecision,” says Charles W. Baird in this week’s Acton Commentary. While the Janus decision was based on the First Amendment’s guarantee of free, uncoerced political speech, exclusive representation in government employment may be challenged as a violation of workers’ First Amendment freedom of association. If I represent you, you and I are associated with each other on the matters covered by...
Oportunismo socialista conforma gobierno en España
Últimamente me he dado a la tarea de escribir algunos artículos sobre el socialismo en Latinoamérica. Ahora es el momento de cruzar el mediterráneo y llegar a España, digamos que si de socialismo se trata La Madre o algunos la llaman, tiene mucha tela que cortar. Comencemos por lo recientemente ocurrido con la moción de censura impuesta al expresidente Mariano Rajoy. Dicha moción dio paso a la formación de un gobierno socialista. No está de más decir que este modelo...
Deregulation: When to wash a pig
You could be prosecuted on the federal level if you “make any incision” on hog carcasses before all “hair, scurf and dirt, including all hoofs and claws, (is) removed from hog carcasses and the carcasses thoroughly washed and cleaned.” In January, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13771, pledging to reduce regulation, which initiated the recall of the Hog Carcass Cleaning Rule. It turns out that there were two rules on the books, the first states to wash the hog...
Acton University: Ecumenism 101 with Peter Kreeft
This summer, the interns at the Acton Institute have bonded over campfires, swing dancing and piles of folders and name tags. About half of the 18 interns are Catholic, and the others subscribe to a variety of Protestant denominations. Although most of us are studying economics, we each care deeply about our faith. As the evenings progress, our conversations often turn to topics of religion and theology. Acton University attracts participants from a variety of denominations and religions around the...
Video: Rush Limbaugh on clergy who accept socialism
Occasionally, the themes the Acton Institute dedicates itself to proclaiming, in season and out of season, burst into the mainstream. On Monday’s “Rush Limbaugh” program, a female caller was perplexed that too many pulpits preach leftist ideals, which undermine the faith. Rush Limbaugh responded by pinpointing the intellectual moment that corroded the faith: When the Left convinced the clergy that socialism is charity, it was over. So much of the clergy is leftist, because to them it’s all charity. ‘It’s...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved