The Age of Agrarian

A good friend of mine and I were talking one day about farming and the feelings we get when a job is well done. We both agreed that we experience a certain amount of pure joy and happiness while working on the homestead.

I can be dog tired from a long day at work and not feel like doing a thing. I come home and sit, maybe, around 30 minutes and, I'm still tired. But things need to be done. So I do all my chores and any extras that might need done. Sometimes putting in 14 hour days, including my day job. But there is no real feeling of joy after a day at the salt mines. Sure, I might feel good at taking care of the customers and making my boss look good. There is a good feeling in doing your job to the best of your abilities. But, it is not joy.

My friend and I discussed how others we know feel joy at working on their homestead. These folks have also expressed their happiness and joy at working hard. Kind of like the feeling you get after a really good workout.

Like I said, I can be dead tired and still have to put up hay and feed the animals. But when I'm done, I feel joy. Why is this? Where does this joy come from? Let's see if we can put a biblical perspective on this.

Ge 1:26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

God gave dominion to man over all living things. It was, and is, man's job to care for the things that belong to God. Not only to care for them, but to rule over them. This is what man was created to do.
Ge 1:26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Ge 1:29 ¶ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Ge 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

God literally gave it all to mankind. Not to just throw away and abuse, but to use. This is His will for us.

Ge 2:8 ¶ And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Ge 2:8 ¶ And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Ge 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Notice that God took man and placed him in the garden. Man's job was to dress and keep it. But, the dressing and keeping are not the source of the joy we are talking about. Here is why:

Ge 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Ge 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Ge 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Ge 3:6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Mankind fell from the grace and fellowship with God that they were created to enjoy. They made a decision, and decisions, good and bad, all have consequences. The consequence here was this:

Ge 3:16 ¶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Ge 3:17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

So, as we can see here, the punishment for man's disobedience toward God was not only the loss of fellowship with their creator, but cursed land. Where is the joy in this? No longer was the food in the garden to be ready to eat. No longer were the fruit trees going to be full of ripe fruit without bugs a disease. In other words, no longer was God going to give these things to man. Man now has to work for it, and work hard. Again, where is the joy in this?

Folks, hard work really isn't fun. If it was fun, it wouldn't be called hard. We would say something like, "Man, I really worked fun today." There is no real joy in hard work. There is a good feeling that comes from a job well done. A sense of accomplishment. I felt really goo when I had completed my barn. But it still isn't joy.

I contend that the joy that is found in being outside, in the sunshine, working the land, tending the animals and growing a garden to feed the family, is not in the work itself. It is in being as close to the way God intended us to be that we, in our human frailty, can be. His will for our individual lives should be our only desire. And his will is to be stewards of His creation. Not stewards only, but good stewards.

2Ch 29:11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

Mt 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Ro 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. Ro 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 1Ti 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

1Pe 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

The will of the LORD is to be good stewards of that which He gave us charge. This concept goes beyond just monetary things, but all of creation. His land and His creatures are our top concern. It is in this that we, as homesteaders, can derive true joy and contentment. The likes of which cannot be found in a factory or a grocery store or an office. You will feel good, from time to time, but not the true joy that comes from serving the LORD. I have a long way to go, how about you?