The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

- Genesis 2:15-17

From the very beginning, God has put limits on work. He made humans and placed them in the Garden of Eden and gave them work to do ... but he also forbade them to do one specific job. They could harvest from any tree in the garden ... except one tree.

Now, the Genesis narrative is doing a lot at this point. If we dig into it, we can mine all sorts of treasures. But there is a word here for us about our work.

Many of us find our hands full of work. We could be fully occupied every minute of the day. But one specific job eludes us. We don't even fully understand why.

Maybe for you it's a management position or a Pinteresting side gig or a board you'd like to sit on or a weekly babysitting arrangement with a grandkid. Whatever that work is that eludes you, don't be surprised if that very point doesn't become a point of temptation for you.

• Temptation to bitterness
• Temptation to play dirty
• Temptation to joylessness
• Temptation to gossip
• Temptation to ingratitude
• Temptation to unhealthy anger
• Temptation to turn away from God

God gives us work, yet there will always be work we don't get to do. This is a great mystery. What we do with this mystery deeply effects our walk with our God. Will we resist the myriad temptations that limits on our work bring us? Will we repent if we cave in? Will we find healthy ways to push our limits AND live within them?

Where are you experiencing limits on your work today?