Though (Labor Day) may seem a less exciting a subject than some of our other holidays, we must have a clear “theology of work” so that we can fully embrace the significance of honoring those who work.

This doctrine of calling and God-centered work ethic would greatly influence the following generation as they sought to form a new nation where “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Underneath the raw power of manual labor that moves mountains, builds bridges, loads trucks and trains, constructs immense machines and tears down obstacles—the things that facilitate our American way of life—is a belief that work itself is not inherently evil, but a blessing.