The Fourth Commandment is a commandment to work. This commandment reads:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11, KJV).
Breaking down the week as outlined in this commandment, six-sevenths of the time should be spent on work, while one-seventh of the time should be spent on rest. For my purposes here, work can be defined as any purposeful activity that is of benefit to self or others.
This concept is not hard for adults to grasp, as we tend to understand that work is a necessity. But, how about children? How can they enjoy the gift from God that Sabbath rest most assuredly is, if they don’t work? But, how does an infant work? How does a toddler work? In order to give your children the gift of work, you must orient them from the beginning that they are in the family to assume responsibilities and duties, according to their capabilities. Continue reading
The Kingdom-Driven Family 