How to Talk to Our Grandchildren About Work
Today, we’ll talk about a four-letter word.
Labor Day weekend offers a great opportunity to talk to your grandchildren, especially the older ones, about work.
So often the word carries a negative connotation.
Let’s change that. I can’t picture God dreading the creation process or looking forward to the weekend just so He could have some time off.
For God, work was, and is, a joy—and it can be for us too.
Now, is all work fun? No. I’m sure God’s wilderness years with Moses and the Israelites didn’t make His highlight reel, but God can give purpose and fulfillment in whatever we do, whether we are wiping noses, arguing court cases, or teaching math to teens.
Genesis 1:31 says “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.”
Have you had days like that at work?
Productive, fruitful days when you were just in the zone?
When you finished, you had a sense of joy. Satisfaction. Of purpose fulfilled.
Let’s create a positive vibe for the word “work” with our grandkids.
1. God’s Plan for Work and Man
Genesis 2:15 reads, “The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” God’s purpose for Adam, and later, for Eve, began in Eden and was to move out from there.
Genesis 1:28 says, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.” Just as God had plans for them, He has plans for our grandkids, and that includes their work.
Now’s a great time for sharing.
How did you choose your work?
Any good God-stories there?
What decisions did you make regarding your career, your training or schooling, and why?
Did you have a clear calling?
If you are retired, how are you intentional with your time and talents now?
How do we help our grandchildren as they consider their work, be it a summer job in high school or their first real job after college?
Talk with them about their interests, passions, and abilities. Aptitude and personality tests can be helpful too. And most importantly, prayer.
God equips and prepares us long before we begin our work.
Do you see Him at work even now in your grandkids?
In what direction is He pointing them?
2. God’s Plan for Partnership
Next, let’s talk about how to work, and how to work is in partnership with God.
Exodus 31:1-3, 6 say, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge, and with all kinds of skills . . . Moreover, I’ve appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also, I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you.’”
Partnership with God means working with the Holy Spirit.
Teamwork is a game changer on so many levels.
How do we partner with the Holy Spirit in our work?
We start with prayer. About everything. Each day I ask God to put me on His page. To order my tasks. To anoint and fill me with His Spirit.
After you have prayed, listen and do what He says. Even if what He says is not on your to-do list. God has upended my schedule more times than I can count. Now, I simply roll with it.
You’ll be amazed at the godly wisdom that you have, the insight, the knowledge of what to do when, and the resources that become available when we do life and work with God.
Like this God-moment. My co-author Jen and I were working on Book 3 of the Kingswell Kid Detective series, and I needed a bat expert. As in a small creature with leathery wings, not a baseball bat. I had contacted Northern Arizona University and the National Park Service at the Grand Canyon with no luck. Why there? Because Book 3 is set in the Grand Canyon. Jen had seen something on TikTok that she forwarded to me and that led me to Kate, resident bat expert from Bat World Sanctuary right here in DFW. Wow.
Not working for God, but with Him.
That’s what we’re after. That’s when the joy comes.
3. Work and God’s Eternal Plan
Ephesians 2:10 reads, “For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
I believe some of these good works are tied to our vocation. God places us (and the grandkids) strategically to accomplish His purposes in the world.
Work has eternal consequences as well.
Matthew 25:21 says in the parable of the talents, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
What we do here on earth will have eternal consequences. God called me to write in 2010, but several years ago, He impressed me with the thought that the writing gig would continue into eternity. Wow. What will you carry forward into eternity?
As you celebrate Labor Day weekend, save the word “work” from its four-letter word status.
Work is a gift, a more celebratory four-letter word, and God is intimately involved in equipping your grandchildren for the work He has prepared for them.
God’s Plan for Work
God’s Partnership in Work
Work in God’s Eternal Plan
This Labor Day, will you engage your grandkids in a conversation about work?
And God said it was very good.
Let’s pray: Father God, thank You for the gift of work and for the privilege of partnering with You in that work. Use us grandparents to encourage our grandchildren to seek Your will in their vocations because we know Your plans for them are good. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Even the youngest children thrive when they feel part of something bigger, so don’t let them off the hook just because they’re at Grandma’s house. I’ve included a Focus on the Family article with age-appropriate suggestions below. Whether it’s helping with meals, folding laundry together, or cleaning out the garage, when everyone has a job to do, they experience purpose, belonging, and even God Himself, just as God intended.
Don’t forget to check out The Kingswell Kid Detective series. Book 1, The Mystery of the Missing Falls, is available now for readers ages 8-12. Kid-sized mysteries. God-sized truths.
Check out The Mystery of the Missing Falls on the Children’s Book Review tour.
Resources:
Scripture to Help Grandparents
Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids
Next week’s post: Skeptical Grandkids and God’s Free Samples.
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