The Legacy of Labor Day

By Aiden Tak

For most of us, the first Monday of every September is another day off. We go out with friends, read a book, or eat something delicious. For us as believers, who believe in our eternal, triune God as revealed through Jesus Christ, and Americans, who sit on the shoulders of our predecessors, however, Labor Day can take on a deeper meaning for us. On this Labor Day, I invite you to reflect on the legacy of labor movements in the United States, how they reflect God's beautiful outline for work in our lives, and to pay tribute to an often under-appreciated legacy.

The 19th century saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution, which infamously led to an explosion of wealth and productivity while exacerbating the differences in living standards and quality of life between the rich and the poor. The United States was no exception. As industrial titans like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Ford, and Morgan entrenched their names into history, set records for productivity, and accumulated wealth, countless nameless workers, men, women, and children, worked 12 to 16 hour workdays in an era without safety standards or an avenue for self-advocacy.

These conditions galvanized workers and led to the rise of the 19th and 20th century labor movements. Unions, strikes, legislation, and advocacy gave us the 40-hour workweek, child labor protections, and workplace safety standards. Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894, honoring the countless activists, workers, and marches that led to protections for the workers, as well as a newfound infrastructure for them to fight continued abuses of power by employers. Faith played a role as well; a full examination of the role that Christians played in the labor movement would be beyond the scope of this article, but figures like Walter Rauschenbusch and Washington Gladden were key theologians during the social gospel movement of the late 19th century.

         However, the interesting thing about the role that history plays in our public imagination is that while we've just highlighted the role that labor movements played in shaping our history, we are also more likely to know the names of the industrial titans than those who worked under them and gave us, well, Labor Day. In a way, this gives the rich more dignity than the poor. It's easier to remember a few famous names than thousands of individuals. But our God knows each and every one of them better than we know our own family. And he gives them more dignity than we could give to anyone. Work is another way that we can glorify and honor God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and carries with it a dignity and goodness that God honors throughout the entire Bible and all of human history, regardless of cultural context.

We see in Genesis that in God's perfect world, work is inherently good and ordained by him. Adam and Eve were created to do work in the garden (Genesis 2:15) and care for God's creation. And after the fall, God begins to prescribe laws to guide his people in honoring him in a fallen world. Among the many symptoms of a fallen world is the fact that an inherently good thing, work, which used to come directly from God, is now put in the hands of an imperfect human, rather than a perfect God who provides for all of our needs. As a result, the commandments of Deuteronomy and Leviticus demand strict virtues from the employer. There is a newfound imbalance between the employer and the employee; it's borderline impossible to provide for one's family without work, putting one's basic standards of living at the mercy of their imperfect employer, in contrast with an all-loving God. God challenges this immense power imbalance by not only demanding that the worker be paid promptly and justly, but also that they should not be taken advantage of in their need (Deuteronomy 24:14–15) and makes it clear that the employer cannot be deceptive or malicious (Leviticus 19:13); after all, what is just is not what our society sees as fairly given or earned, but what pleases God.

         After Christ came to earth and did the work of God the Father (John 17:4) and promised to come again (Matthew 24:30), Paul entreats the believers to continue to honor God's design for work. He challenges the masters of slaves to give them what is fairly due, a radical challenge to the contemporary treatment of slaves (Colossians 4:1), and reminds them that earthly power dynamics are nothing in front of God (Ephesians 6:9). Recall the picture of Genesis; work came only from our perfect, ever-loving, and providing God. Until Christ returns and the world is made anew (Revelation 11:15), we are called to honor the inherent dignity of work, especially those in positions of power.

In Deuteronomy 8, God challenges us to remember how he has provided for our forefathers, and to continue to revere and honor his commandments. For us as Americans resting on this day, God has worked within our nation already to bring us closer to his vision. As we allow ourselves to take a breather from our fast-paced lifestyle this Labor Day, let us remember how he has provided for those before us, and take this resting period as a visible sign of his providence. Additionally, let us remember that the laborer's fight did not end in the 19th century, and to revere and honor him by participating in that work. Right here, in New York City, Amazon workers rallied on Staten Island to protest exhausting and inhumane working conditions. Construction workers and labor leaders recently rallied in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And the New York City Central Labor Council has scheduled its "Our City, Our Fight, Our Future" march for Tuesday, September 8, in Lower Manhattan.

Before the prayer, I'll add something to one of my favorite hymns, In Christ Alone. "Till he returns, or calls me home," he has work for me to do here.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for the honor and dignity that you give to all work, no matter how prestigious, visible, clean, or popular. Your love for all people and their status as bearers of your image extends to all areas of their lives, including their work.

Thank you for the work that you've already done for us through your people and within our nation to bring us closer to your perfect vision for our lives. Thank you for how you challenge the powerful and uplift the weak and lowly.

Strengthen us to continue onwards towards your vision today, in our personal lives, in our city, in our politics, and in our nation. Humble us to treat the weak and the strong with the love that you have for both, as we speak truth to power and challenge systems.

Thank you for the hope that your limitless strength offers us.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.