The difference between work and labor

[david rodriguez]

When God told Adam and Eve that they should tend to the land and to till it and keep it in good standing, was God telling them to work? Yes? No? In my opinion, work as known in 2015 is a system of things where you are paid by government standards with government knowledge of time spent in their environment. Work today consists of a time-card, payroll input, number of hours worked with pay per hour, deductions that are kept out, and the rest. Work today is a system in which monies is repaid for services. Hence, those that work, are really working for someone or something that pays you for your services. Labor in the Old Testament times and even in Christ's parable of those that were hired to work in the master's vineyard is, to me, a little different. First off, the master of the vineyard paid to all the workers of the day the same pay, from the last to the first. Each received the same pay, the usual day's earnings, regardless of the number of hours they put worked in the vineyard. And Jesus goes even further saying that what the owner of the vineyard wanted to do with his own money was his own right, and that none should be offended that he should desire to give to the last as he gave to the first. So work or labor in those days was not a business enterprise with government mandates. It was based upon individual desires of what to pay and what not to pay. I am not trying to say that work should not be done even with governments standards and mandates. What I might be trying to say is that there is a difference between the work and labor done in Old Testament times, Jesus' times (namely those of His Faith) and the work and labor done in present times. It would be a little strange if after Jesus said what He said, that He would advise His followers to work for the Romans or the Sanhedrin.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

'Work' has many meanings and uses; you're saying that, in modern times, it's a paid job, but that's just one usage. In essence, work is a goal-oriented activity where the main goal is maintaining or improving one's standard of living, i.e. an enabling activity, a non-leisure activity (although pleasure, fulfillment, & satisfaction, etc., may be secondary goals). Labour (labor) is generally understood to be arduous work, particularly physical work.

That's the difference as I understand it - neither work nor labour need involve anyone else, set hours, or payment. For example, a self-sufficient subsistence farmer works without pay for himself/herself (and family, if any), and most of that work will be labour (physical/arduous, i.e. laborious).

 

[Neochristian]

Labor = Work + Hardship

 

[GrowingSmaller]

= toiling

 

[Ken-1122]

When God told Adam and Eve that they should tend to the land and to till it and keep it in good standing, was God telling them to work? Yes? No? In my opinion, work as known in 2015 is a system of things where you are paid by government standards with government knowledge of time spent in their environment. Work today consists of a time-card, payroll input, number of hours worked with pay per hour, deductions that are kept out, and the rest. Work today is a system in which monies is repaid for services. Hence, those that work, are really working for someone or something that pays you for your services. Labor in the Old Testament times and even in Christ's parable of those that were hired to work in the master's vineyard is, to me, a little different. First off, the master of the vineyard paid to all the workers of the day the same pay, from the last to the first. Each received the same pay, the usual day's earnings, regardless of the number of hours they put worked in the vineyard. And Jesus goes even further saying that what the owner of the vineyard wanted to do with his own money was his own right, and that none should be offended that he should desire to give to the last as he gave to the first. So work or labor in those days was not a business enterprise with government mandates. It was based upon individual desires of what to pay and what not to pay. I am not trying to say that work should not be done even with governments standards and mandates. What I might be trying to say is that there is a difference between the work and labor done in Old Testament times, Jesus' times (namely those of His Faith) and the work and labor done in present times. It would be a little strange if after Jesus said what He said, that He would advise His followers to work for the Romans or the Sanhedrin.

Labor is physical work. The guys on a construction project using hammers, digging ditches, etc are laboring. The supervisor who sits in his office in charge of it all is working but is not laboring

Ken
BTW how did you get under the impression that in Old Testament times labors were paid the same wage regardless of hours worked?