Work, Not Woke for the Night Is Coming When No Man Shall Work

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By Joe Renfro, Ed.D.

Education in Jesus Christ is true learning.  It is learning with the divine hand of God opening up to us the truth of life. It does not come from the indoctrination of the elites of our society, but it comes from the discipline of the Holy Spirit and the Bible blending together to work in our lives.

“The Lord Jesus said, “Work for the night is coming when no man shall work, basically meaning we need to work today before it gets too late” which can apply to many different areas.

There is a great conflict in our day between those promote WOKE thinking and the teaching of the Bible, and if thinking like that being indoctrinated through the educational, progressive mindset, and the focus in many of our mainline church, as it all works together to undermine Judeo-Christ message, this could well be. Here is something that the “night is coming.

WOKE ideology will not work as it creates moral deformity and promotes immorality.  The word, WOKE, has four letters in it just like the word, WORK, but has a contradictory meaning, as it calls not to work for God’s glory, but for mankind’s social revolution that they project as a paradise of secularism that really like Karl Marx sees “religion as the opium” of the people. But God calls us to work against this ideology that is the addiction that will not bring liberty, but bondage. The concept of work is very much part of the Biblical message.

There is the word “WORK” that is used as an active verb, and there are works that are nouns.  In the Scripture from John 9:4, as the Lord Jesus was healing the man who had been born blind, Christ said, “I must work of the works of he him that sent me, while it is yet day:  The night comes, when no man shall work.” 

In this article I wish to use an acronym to hold this together. I want to use the word, “WORK” to develop this message starting with the first letter the “W”, which can point to the “WORD” which was and is personified in the person of Jesus Christ. The word, “WOKE” is in conflict with the concepts of “WORK” and “WORD”

To be WOKE is to be involved in social activism. The concept first was concerned about racial uses, but not it has expanded to all types of rights people feel they have been denied. It is not a call to righteousness with which it can very much in conflict.  It tends to make our schools into hot beds of social activism, and it totally rejects the teaching of Galatians 3:23 that says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus,”  It is concerned with promoting “covetousness,” wanting what the so-called minority group fees they don’t yet have and really spreads the hatred and discrimination it proports to condemn. They confuse the fact that “equality” does not mean “equal”.

We live in a world of sin, but social activism is not the solution to the problem.  In Jesus Christ, God’s image was revealed in human flesh to die for our sins, designate the depths of our iniquity, but to rise again victoriously over the grave for our salvation. We are called to look to Christ’s work, for the word “WORD” which we see dying for our redemption on Calvary, not “WOKE” to eternal death of us as individuals, our culture, nation, and society.

We can know the Word of God, central in God’s creation of the universe, the world, and all creation-the Logos or rational behind all existence in the person of Christian, and this is the core to true learning.

The image of God is one of work, as we see in the beginning that “God created the heavens and the earth.” And so, the image of God points to work, and because we were made in his image, and the Bible teaches that the whole creation is the work of God’s hands there is the call to work.  Genesis 2 gives the calling to work, but not to eat one tree in the garden, that of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a call looking far beyond just the literal story.

In the midst of the whole human dilemma, we need to listen to the Lord’s call to “Work for the night is coming when no man shall work.” Genesis 2: 15 says that, “The Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” The call to work was basic in the creation of mankind.

 Ephesians 2:8,9 says that, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” This points to us not being able to work our way to Heaven, but it does not negate to call to work for God’s glory.  Notice this does not stop there for in verse nine it says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”

The opportunity to labor was part of God’s original commission to mankind to subdue it. God commanded that they toil to keep the Garden of Eden productive. Genesis 2:15 is before the fall. 

The first letter of the word “WORK” is the “W” and it can stand for “WORD”.  Adam and Eve were given a situation in the garden in that it needed tending.  Here is the call to Work, and the word starts with “W” In this image it is evident that humanity was created to have chores. This was before the fall in the biblical story. They were able to commune with the WORD of God continually.

The entrance of sin did not precipitate humanities need to labor, but it has affected the original purposes of people’s work.  After the fall God told Adam and Eve, they would have to labor hard to carve out a living.  The work they evidently had in caring for the garden had been very enjoyable, but with sin it shifted to the suffering of labor that not enjoyable at all. Basic in this was the fact we lost the freedom to commune with God in all we did. Notice God’s presence was there with them, as they worked, but after the fall all changed.  

The second letter of the word “WORK” is the “O” which can point to the fact that in varying degrees omit integrity if our lives.  It is sad to see how so many people in our day omit integrity. They leave integrity out.   Many don’t know who they are and are struggling for identity.  This is very much evidenced by the popular alternate life styles, indulgences in all types of drugs and other things searching for personal identity, and it can go on and on. 

The Bible also says that “Faith without works is dead,” and this is speaking in the spiritual realm.  Many people work at being good and miss the boat, for our works the Bible says, “are as filthy rags.” People can sometimes put on a good show, but in reality, they omit real integrity.  True faith spiritually brings good words, but good works in no way can bring faith.   The WOKE ideologies focus on rights, but it totally neglects or rejects the call to be in a right relationship with God.

Followers of Christ should rightly feel the calling to go an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Many talk about the so-called equal pay, but they ignore the equal work.  People need to realize the call in our lives to seek God’s strength and guidance in the development the right discipline to do his will in all things.

We are confronting a bleak situation now in America, as many are asking why worry about work.  Many feel little hope for the future.  Many don’t know how to handle their spare time and are bored.  Many are rebelling for they feel a political letdown, as they are beginning to realize that just having the government take care of them from the cradle to the grave is shallow.  Many want to demonstrate, while not really understanding what they are really doing.

There is a growing dependency on the welfare system developing rather than faith in God, and it brings disillusionment.  There are many studies, showing that civil religion is dying in America, that is not personal salvation but the effects of the Christian religion on our society. The Protestant work ethic that made our land great is on the wane.  Many are unemployed walking about with the music glaring and various electronic devices in their hands.  It is such a waste of potential, because either they can’t find work or won’t find it. 

Work for the night is coming when no man shall work.  The third letter of the acronym WORK is the “R,” that stands for REST.  God’s people are called to realize that God’s plan for work also includes a plan for rest. 

God gave us the example there needed to be rest, and in all creation, there is programmed times of rest.  There needs to be a balance between work and rest, but notice that it was not to rest six days and to work one. Your heart rests between every beat, but if it rested too long your earthly existence would cease.

In Hebrews 4:9-11 the Bible says: “There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”  The final rest awaits the children of God, when each in Christ awaits that glorious call when we are to hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faith servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of thy Lord.”

Work of the night is coming when no man shall work, which can relate to many situations. But God’s people are called to see their primary vocation is to serve God.  This is very much in accord with the Scripture verse that says; “Study to show thyself approved unto God, as workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Here is the fourth letter, the letter “K” to the word, “WORK”, and it can stand for “KNOWLEDGE”.  For Christians, life’s primary calling is to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s presence and will, doing all that you do for the glory of God.  We are to have the knowledge of working in the knowledge of God, not that of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as brought out in Genesis 2, where we determine what we think what is best in our lives rather than God.

The Lord Jesus displayed knowledge of knowing God as his Heavenly Father as he prayed at the crucifixion, dying on the cross. He prayed to his Father we can see from John 17:4-5, as he said, “I have glorified you on earth.  I have finished the work, which you have given me to do. And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was.”

God calls us to walk the walk with him, not to follow that of the world.  “WOKE” thinking promotes the politically correct philosophy of our day, which is the world’s way to counterfeit God’s way, stressing rights, rights rather than godly responsibility. neglecting or rejecting the teaching of God’s word, the way of the world that will bring destruction.  “The Lord Jesus said, “Work for the night is coming when no man shall work, basically meaning we need to work today before it gets too late!

Yes, the night is coming when no man shall work. May God help each of us in this time to use all our time to work and prepare for the time, when there will be no time but the opening up to eternity that is beyond time.  Here is the eternal retirement plan.  Seek to realize it for God’s glory.

Woke philosophy is to seek to change the world into a socialist utopia.  But we are called in Jesus Christ to work for the glory of God, not the socialistic/secularistic society that is being promoted in our contemporary educational systems. That is the road to bondage and very much in conflict with what Jesus Christ said, when he said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Here is true freedom in learning, and it is not in the WOKE playbook or lesson plan!