davejonescue
Puritan Board Junior
"D. 6. Moderate your Pains in your Callings. Pains must be; Sweat, is required. But by Reason and Religion they must be measured. God's Laws be all Just and Good. Drones that will not work must not eat. He that is a sluggard in his work, is branded as Brother of the Prodigal waster, Prov. 18.9. Drudges, of whose Labour there is no end, and who bereave their Souls of good; who use themselves worse than God allows Oxen to be used; Treading out the Corn, and muzzling themselves; these are branded by the Spirit of God, as inconsiderate, absurd, and self-destroying fools, Eccles. 4.8. Diligent hands have the promise of being made rich: That is, Hands that be neither Drones nor Drudges, Prov. 10.4. The hand of the diligent maketh rich." - Daniel Burgess, 1645-1713 "Directions for Daily Holy Living"
Question: Is there a distinction to be made between labors of industry and labors of ministry? Though, I would not work "for a living" free of charge; I often enjoy being industrious for the kingdom free of charge. Is this what this quote means? That is, that a drudge is one who works to their own hurt by refusing payment of labors that should provide for their well-being, and, if one works to provide for themselves, is the work that one does outside of that provision still considered drudgery? I am leaning to the understanding it is not. My main example being that many churches, and church ministries are staffed by volunteers, and I have never heard volunteers being accused of drudgery, so that, post-provisionary work, in what we would call our "free-time" can be "sacrificial" instead of "acquisitional" since we already acquire our sustenance through our industriousness in non-sacrificial duties. The reason I ask, is because there are other Puritan quotes like this, and I am not sure if the Puritans had this idea that all labors must be for recompense, or that sacrificial industry was somehow seen as sinful?
Question: Is there a distinction to be made between labors of industry and labors of ministry? Though, I would not work "for a living" free of charge; I often enjoy being industrious for the kingdom free of charge. Is this what this quote means? That is, that a drudge is one who works to their own hurt by refusing payment of labors that should provide for their well-being, and, if one works to provide for themselves, is the work that one does outside of that provision still considered drudgery? I am leaning to the understanding it is not. My main example being that many churches, and church ministries are staffed by volunteers, and I have never heard volunteers being accused of drudgery, so that, post-provisionary work, in what we would call our "free-time" can be "sacrificial" instead of "acquisitional" since we already acquire our sustenance through our industriousness in non-sacrificial duties. The reason I ask, is because there are other Puritan quotes like this, and I am not sure if the Puritans had this idea that all labors must be for recompense, or that sacrificial industry was somehow seen as sinful?