MONDAY September 7, 2020
Labor Day
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
1Timothy 6:6-8
Today is Labor Day. In the late 19th century the trade union and labor movements grew. It was proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. They created a labor movement that set aside a “workingmen’s holiday.” The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.
It is believed that either Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, or Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, first proposed the holiday. Congress passed an act to make Labor Day a legal holiday. By 1894, thirty U.S. states officially celebrated the official holiday. What is interesting is that the Sunday before the Labor Day holiday was called Labor Sunday and attention was given to the spiritual and education features of the labor movement.
In the United States this public holiday honors the American worker for all the contributions that workers have made to strengthen, and prosper our great country. The American workforce is recognized for their efforts in a yearly tribute on the first Monday in September. Many people enjoy a well-earned day off.
Being on a Monday, the holiday has become known as Labor Day Weekend. It is considered to be the unofficial end of summer. It also marks the time when many children go back to school, although, this year, because of the pandemic, many children will resume lessons online.
It is good to be content and enjoy the temporal benefits of our earthly labor. Yet we must consider the eternal gains in our steadfast service to the Lord.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
~1 Corinthians 15:58~
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