The Origin of Commerce

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

What did God originally intend work to be?
Do you know that sin caused the nature of work to change entirely?
How can work and commerce go back to becoming fulfilling, rewarding, and purposeful?

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”  – Genesis 3:17-19

The Origin of Commerce

Had Adam and Eve not sinned, everything we would need to provide for our natural needs would be free. There would not be a need for currency, banks, or even businesses as we know it today.

According to Genesis 2:15 -17, when God created man, He placed him in the Garden of Eden to care for it, and He instructed him that he could eat from any tree in the garden that he desired, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The consequence of disobedience would be death.

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 of it you will surely die.” – Genesis 2:15-17

What did this really mean? Most of us do not really understand what we had before we lost it all. Before the fall, God planted and watered and gave the increase, and He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. They had perfect communion.

God’s purpose in instructing Adam to tend the garden was that it would be a fulfilling, rewarding, and pleasant experience, and an act of loving obedience towards God, that would give meaning to Adam’s life. Work brought fulfillment, and a sense of joy without any burden, and man’s provision was free of charge.  All of Adam and Eve’s needs were met by their loving Heavenly Father. There was no 9 -5 “rat race”, and there were no bills, no creditors – and no need to request annual or sick leave from your employer.  

This truly was heaven on earth. But – Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil, who tricked them into eating the fruit that they had been forbidden to eat (Genesis 3:1-6).

By doing so, they had violated the instructions of their Creator. They had no way of knowing that their single act of disobedience, which gave them such temporary pleasure and satisfaction, would release sin into the world and affect the destinies of every human being who was descended from them.  

But that is exactly what happened. The consequence of this act was not only a break in fellowship with their creator. Genesis 3:17-19 tells us that the ground became cursed because of sin, and that while mankind would still eat from it, it would now be “by means of painful labor” and “by the sweat of (his) brow”. In other words, due to sin, not only were sickness and death introduced into the world, but also, the nature of work had entirely changed.

A further consequence of mankind now having to work in order to eat was the introduction of commerce. Commerce became necessary when work became mandatory as a condition for provision, especially as people moved off of the land, and into cities, where they could not produce their own food.

Commerce is trade, usually on a large scale, of something of economic value such as goods, services, information, or money, between two or more entities. We can sell goods that we have produced directly or that someone else has produced, or we can use our skill sets to benefit others. 

Prior to sin, work was not mandatory as a condition of provision, and therefore there was also no need for commerce. 

The Bible gives many examples of commerce:

“So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you.
Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.” – Genesis 34:10

And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat
as food for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil.
Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year. – 1 Kings 5:11

Then he who had received the five talents went
and traded with them, and made another five talents. – Matthew 25:16

When the Apostle Paul said that if a man does not work, he shall not eat, he was referring to the state of reality for the fallen man. God had mandated in Genesis 3 that due to sin, man would now need to work in order to eat. Furthermore, for those outside of God, sin has made work more difficult and painful, requiring much effort (sweat of the brow) and sometimes not producing the desired result (thorns and thistles). 

But when sinful man turns to God, our work and our commerce can once again become fulfilling, rewarding, and purposeful. We can rediscover God’s purpose for our lives, and God can be greatly glorified through our work and our commerce, no matter what type of task we are called to fulfill.

Work restores an internal sense of appreciation for the creation of God, which was obscured because of sin. And although the curse of the ground brought labor pains and burdens, the coming of Jesus Christ brought rest and fulfillment to all of mankind.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. – Mathew 11:28 – 29

Of course, commerce can also be used for ungodly purposes. But the redemptive purposes of work and commerce that are dedicated to God will demonstrate the redemptive and restorative purposes of Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you is that you will do all that you do for the glory of God and that as you engage in commerce, the redemptive and restorative purposes of God will work both in you and through you so that the plans of purposes of God will be demonstrated through your life.