Evidence for Division of Labour in the Church of God

 

The renowned economist Adam Smith who popularized the concept of 'Division of Labour' never knew it would be applicable to all aspects of life. In a lay man's language, division of labour is a process of allowing several people to accomplish a goal by sharing the work into various parts. Please note that the major objective of division of labour is to enable all the parts achieve a single unique goal.

Today, I will be extracting few out of the many examples we can find in the bible on division of labour.

 

Starting from the old testament, Moses' example is one that we should not overlook in a jiffy. Moses was a leader that could be otherwise called an exemplary one. Even though he had his flaws; his humility was incomparable.

 

Moses never whined concerning his function as the leader of the multitudes of Isrealites. When Jethro ( his father-in-law) visited him he observed the undue stress Moses was going through. The elderly man perceived that if Moses continued it could affect his health negatively. Thus, he quickly enlightened him on the need for a division of labour(Read Exodus 18:19-21).Jethro even went a further step ahead by specifying the categories of men that Moses should ordain.

According to Jethro, the men must possess the following qualities:

■They must fear God

■They must be men of truth

■They must be men that hate covetousness.

Interestingly, Moses heeded to his father-in-law's instructions and indeed, the burden was lifted off his shoulder. In all, he became relieved.

 

Let's take another cue from our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus never waited for anyone's advice before he chose his disciples. He had the discerning spirit concerning the huge task ahead of him; hence, he appointed his beloved disciples and announced their roles accordingly(Mark 3:14-19; Matt4:18-22). For example, Judas was the treasurer.

 

Significantly,there was also a time when Jesus ordained another seventy people(Luke 10:1-2)  knowing fully well that the harvest was truly great but the labourers were few.

 

At so many points in the bible, there were series of instances of division of labour. For example John also had  his own disciples (see John3:25).

 

Apostle Paul also wrote about the need for various units in the church(Rom12:4-5; 1Cor12:14-27; Eph4:11-16).

 

It is important to note that God is in full support of division of labour in as much as it is geared towards a similar goal. Jesus Christ who is God in human flesh exemplified this to us while he was living. Hence, we should support the existence of various units and departments in our places of worship.

If you are reading this article and you are yet to belong to any group in your church, the time is now. Remember that if we fail to do the work of God, He can raise stones to replace us(read Matt3:9; Luke 19:40).

Originally posted on Saturday, March 28th, 2015.