Why Labor Day isn't a four-day weekend
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 3 September 2018
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The best way to give meaning to life and labor is to work as God works. This podcast suggests three ways to make your vocation eternally significant. For more news discerned differently, or to receive the Daily Article via email, please visit denisonforum.org.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Jim Denison with Denison Forum, and this is the daily article for Monday, September 3, 2018. |
| 0:08.6 | Labor Day is filled with paradoxes. Begin with the name. We honor America's 160 million laborers |
| 0:15.2 | by giving them a day free from labor, then we call their holiday Labor Day. However, the name is unfortunately appropriate |
| 0:22.5 | for our largest labor group, retail employees. They'll have one of their longest workdays |
| 0:27.9 | today as Americans flood into stores for Labor Day sales. Labor Day could have led to a four-day |
| 0:33.7 | weekend, but Congress intervened. The first Labor Day was on a Tuesday in 1882. In 1894, |
| 0:40.5 | Congress moved the holiday to the first Monday in September. So when you go back to work tomorrow, |
| 0:46.3 | blame them. The good news is that the Lord doesn't need a Labor Day. |
| 0:50.8 | Scripture consistently proclaims the omnipotence of the one who, according to Psalm 121, |
| 0:55.7 | verse 4, will neither slumber nor sleep. We can respond to God's work in the world in three ways. |
| 1:02.4 | First, we can ignore him. We can separate Sunday from Monday, the spiritual from the secular |
| 1:07.4 | religion from the so-called real world. That's what millions of people who attended |
| 1:12.1 | church services yesterday will do tomorrow. They see no overlap between their worship and their work. |
| 1:17.7 | Of course, they forfeit the guidance and empowering of her omniscient, omnipotent Lord. |
| 1:23.7 | Second, we can oppose him. We can actively reject his word and will, choosing to be our own God and working against his kingdom on earth. |
| 1:32.1 | Of course, no one from the devil to the most appraved human can defeat the only king of the universe. |
| 1:38.3 | Or third, we can work as he works. |
| 1:41.2 | We can join him as he extends his kingdom on earth, using our influence and resources |
| 1:45.8 | as the spirit leads and empowers us. This is the only way to redeem our work for eternity and leave a |
| 1:52.4 | legacy that matters. So how do we join God at work? My wife and I joined the millions who watched |
| 1:59.7 | John McCain's televised funeral in Washington National Cathedral on Saturday. |
| 2:04.6 | It was one of the most remarkable services I've ever witnessed. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Denison Forum, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Denison Forum and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.