But after sin tainted this perfect world, the ground would no longer produce without heavy, back-breaking labor. Sweat would drip on the earth as man labored to bring forth its fruit.
Today, we don’t know much about sweat. While many of us have jobs of heavy labor, most are aided by technology or invention. My father roofed for 50 years without the benefit of any technology. He swung a hammer into the steel nails. He angled his body to the roof, laying one asphalt tile after another. It was hard work, exposed to the elements of rain and snow, cold and heat. I am still amazed at my memory of his job, lifting bundles of shingles on his shoulder and walking up the ladder. Work was supposed to be hard — he knew no other way.
I know nothing of that kind of labor. Even modern roofers use lifts and pneumatic hammers. Farmers have expensive machinery that takes much of the sweat out. Digging ditches today are with the use of backhoes.
But we still suffer from toil of another kind in our automated, information driven world – stress.
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