This is part of an ongoing series that will be posted each Monday. You can read the introduction to this series by clicking here.

Today’s Lesson: Should We Thank God For Labor Day?

So, it’s once again the first Monday of September. The unofficial end to summer. A time to kick back, roast a weenie, grill a burger, or snarf some tofu – and of course raise a glass or two in honor of the average American worker.

It’s a holiday utterly free of religious myth or obligation, and that’s really the way it ought to be, considering how little religion has done for working people anywhere.

The holiday itself dates back a mere 120 years. It was conceived of by union leaders, promoted by union leaders, and ultimately made official because of the political power of union leaders and the masses of common laborers who stood behind them. The powerful industrialists who ran this country back in 1882 didn’t give workers today off out of the goodness of their hearts. And the Church never thought to do so during the centuries it reigned as the most powerful force in Western civilization. Labor Day is the result of labor’s own efforts to fight and win recognition. As far as the Church is concerned, today is a time to commemorate the so-called Joyful Mysteries and read the Bible – not salute American workers for all they’ve done.

How… special.

Any worker who may actually be tempted to read that Bible instead of roasting a weenie or grilling a burger will find little to feel good about.

Although “forty” is one of the Bible’s favorite numbers and appears no less than 145 times within its pages, not one of those appearances take the form of “Thou shalt have a forty-hour work week.” No, that particular element of the modern world also came from union leaders and the masses behind them. Not from the Bible. Not from the Church. And not from a benevolent “Christian” society. The fact is, the forty-hour work week became standard in this country only because workers themselves insisted upon it – not because any God or His authorized agents deigned to have mercy upon them.

The Bible has a lot of other words in it besides “forty” of course, but you won’t find any of these particular terms among them no matter how hard you look:

The right to unionize

The right to strike

Child labor laws

Health insurance

Minimum wage

Paid holidays

Sick leave

Vacation time

Mandatory breaks

Overtime pay

Safe working conditions

Unemployment insurance

Disability pay

Survivor’s benefits

Pension fund

Retirement

All these familiar terms and conditions that we now take for granted came into the world because workers organized and fought and brought them into the world. They weren’t bestowed upon mankind by any merciful god. They weren’t part of any “holy” Ten Commandments. They weren’t suggested by or bestowed upon us by any enlightened pope, prophet, priest, rabbi, mullah, saint, or yogi. And not a single one of them came from Mary during any of her many alleged visitations and appearances to this long-suffering planet. No – they came into existence and are now taken for granted by millions because workers stood up, organized, marched, and demanded them instead of continuing to go meekly into their churches to beg God to have mercy on their tired souls.

In doing so, they appeared to go against the Bible in numerous ways. After all, Genesis 2:15 tells us that God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend it – not pursue a self-selected career. Genesis 3:17-19 tells us that toil is a punishment for eating the Forbidden Fruit – not something good and noble or something to be proud of. No, Biblical toil is humanity being condemned by God to a never-ending chain gang – and if that is so, what can unionization be but an attempt to avoid a just sentence?

Other Biblical passages sharpen the point. Genesis 11 basically tells us that if humanity gets too technologically proficient, God will come along, knock us down, and make our lives miserable again. Exodus 20:9-10 tells us that we’re supposed to rest just one day a week – not two. Colossians 3:22 tells slaves to obey their masters in all things – not demand fair treatment, let alone the right to strike. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 famously asserts a strict philosophy of “no work, no eat” – not a compassionate philosophy providing for the care and feeding of those unable or unwilling to fit into an economic system designed by the powerful for the benefit of the few.

In stark contrast to all this of course is Jesus’s famous “lilies of the fields” speech in Matthew 6. We’re told such flowers neither toil nor spin, yet God provides for them – just like He provides for those fowl which neither sow nor reap. We’re better than flowers and fowl, Jesus assures us. Surely God will provide for us, too!

Millions have died trying to obey their masters in all things. And no doubt millions more would die if they actually attempted to follow the “wise” course of action recommended here by Jesus.

What better time than Labor Day to celebrate a better way? What better time to remember that the human condition is not improved when we pray and grovel and become co-conspirators in our own oppression but only when we stand up and improve that condition with our own hands and minds?