Labor day reflections

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Talk to almost any working person and they’ll tell you that Labor Day is the bookend to summer — a sad closure to an already too-short summer. The day may be filled with family, travel or BBQs. It almost always entails a holiday, a day off from work — which seems ironic that we would rest in honor of labor.

But thats exactly the point. Congress established the day in honor of the working man and woman and the strides that we have made in labor. Thanks in part to unions, we no longer have to work under slavish, unsafe conditions. In this country our work is usually reasonable, compensated and protected from danger. We have it good.

Across the world, labor isn’t always so pretty. In some countries, children are forced into the fields or factorys at an early age. Pretty girls are taken advantage of by wealthy men. Long hours with little pay is a norm in many places. Under the harshest of conditions, laborers work in squaller for a few tokens of compensation.

Labor is holy — and yes, it is supposed to be difficult at times. The worker is charged with honesty and diligence and godliness. On the other hand is the law of justice — an employer cannot be harsh or cruel and must treat his employees with respect.

Labor, when it’s done under God’s law, is a beautiful thing. From our hands, we can turn heaven’s bounty into man’s sustenance.

So today, may your rest be restorative. And tomorrow, may your work be a sweet aroma.