Did God Create Us for Work and Exercise?

Or are they just part of the curse?

Created to Move

Have you ever considered what life was like in the garden of Eden? Perhaps you've thought of its perfect environment — with its lush and tropical vegetation and newly created animals. No pesky mosquitos or bugs to fight off. No blight or mold or mildew to mar and destroy the colorful green leaves and purple, red, orange, yellow, and blue flowers. And you spend all your hours wading in the crystal clear pond as a gentle waterfall cascades over you.  When you're hungry, you simply reach your hand to pluck 12 different types of succulent fruits. In your spare time you watch the animals play about in the grass — the lion next to the lamb; the toucan with her nest where you can touch it and watch its newest set of hatchlings grow their beaks. You'd have hours and hours with nothing to do but rest and relax, sun-bathe in the nude (without shame), and watch the trees blossom and bear fruit: a life of perfect leisure, no work, no worries.

And then perhaps you've contrasted that with the fall of man — when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden because of their sin — and sentenced to a life of hard labor on the earth that God had created.

Have you ever blamed Adam and Eve for the fact that you have to work for a living? Well...if you have...your probably not alone. But the question has to be asked. Did the idea of work really begin after the curse? Or was it something that God had built into His perfect created order?

The Bible has the answer

Genesis 2:15 tells us that "the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." What! cultivate it and keep it? That sounds an awful lot like work — and that is exactly what it is. God created Adam and Eve and gave them work to do before they ever sinned. Work is not part of the curse -- it is part of perfect creation, something to be enjoyed. The garden was not going to tend itself. God planted it for Adam and Eve — and yes it was beautiful; and no doubt there were opportunities to enjoy its beauty and leisure. But God expected them to improve the garden, cultivate it, and make something beautiful out of the raw resources He provided them. They wouldn't be lying around all day eating pineapple, grapes, and figs. They'd be moving their bodies while tending the garden God created. But that's not all.

The work of tending and ruling

Tending the garden was not the only work God had for Adam and Eve before the fall. They were to rule over the fish, the birds, the animals — and the whole earth and everything it contains. With God's full blessing, they were told to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, and to rule over everything that moves on the earth. God gave Adam and Eve the whole world to govern. Genesis 1:26-28 tells us:

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'”

This too (the commission to rule the world) was work — and it was given to the first couple before the fall. God knew this was a big task — so He planted a garden for Adam and Eve to begin their rule over the world. After the fall, God did not relinquish His tasks for Adam and Eve to subdue the earth — it was just going to be a lot harder for them. For they would have to plant their own garden and start from scratch as it were with sweat and hard labor. The world we are living in today is the fruit of all the years and history of ruling over the earth that God has created. And it took a lot of intensive labor — which is good — because God designed us as physical creatures — not sedentary ones. From the beginning, exercise was built into the daily tasks of life. Adam and Eve had enough activity to keep them healthy and active: they didn't have to go to the gym. This has been true for most of history.

Exercise was built into life by God’s design

In the days that the Scriptures were written and beyond — moving about (exercise) was a normal part of life — and it still is in some third world countries. But in America — things have changed. Sometimes convenience has a price. While we may make up time by traveling in cars for example — we have to spend more time at the gym to stay physically fit. Historically, mankind walked to get where they needed to go — and their daily tasks involved heavy physical activity like drawing water from wells, planting vineyards, grinding grain, and the like. This is all part of how God designed the human body to function at its best.

The next post in this series will examine the daily activities (exercise) found in the Scripture. We will see a sharp contrast to the activity of the average American's life.

Next: Transportation — a Primary Mode of Exercise in The Bible

Return to: Biblical Health Study