Friday 7th March 2025
Tom Gordon
“Moses reported to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and hard labour.”
Exodus 6:9 (NIV)
Harsh labour
When I was training for the ministry, I had a series of summer jobs. Not only did this provide me with much-needed spare cash for another year in college, but it took me out of the “ivory tower” of training and rooted me in the “real” world.
One summer, I worked in a factory in the “general labouring squad”. One part of that was to work with the gardener – grass-cutting, window-boxes, weeding, and the like. The gardener, “old Donald”, was one of the most overtly Christian, and, at the same time, most depressing men I’ve ever met. And the depth of his faith was at the root of his depressive attitude to life.
As we walked through the factory floor, he would berate a random worker with, “You’re a sinner! Give yourself to the Lord!”, regularly responded to with “industrial language” and frequent two-fingered salutes. On wet days, when we pottered in the greenhouse, he would sit with his head in his hands and bemoan the sins of the world.
There was no grace in old Donald. He was weighed down with the “harsh labour” of being a devout Christian. And, as a result, he was always discouraged and deeply depressed.
When Moses was being guided by God in facing the Egyptian oppressors, he knew he had a commission to follow and a God who promised deliverance for his people. But when he reported this to the Israelites, they didn’t listen, “because of their discouragement and hard labour”. Their burdens were so great and their labour so hard that they couldn’t even hear the promises of God’s constancy Moses was conveying to them. As a result, they couldn’t hear God’s voice.
My granny had a take on this. “Don’t be hauden doon by your faith, son.” In other words, don’t be burdened by the weight of responsibility of being a Christian. God’s promises are real. It’s not all on your shoulders. Are God’s grace and mercy not designed to lift you from your “discouragement and hard labour”?
Shall we pray?
God, whose promises are true and whose Word is constant, as I lay down my burdens before you, enlighten me with your Grace, dispel my discouragement, and let my labour with you be a partnership of Love. Amen.
Tom Gordon, now retired, is a former parish minister and hospice chaplain, and author of several books on spiritual, faith and bereavement issues. He also publishes a daily blog on https://swallowsnestnet.wordpress.com