How to Work Better — Part 2 of 9: Turn on the Light

All of Genesis chapter one was written for our instruction, I believe in part, so that we could learn to improve our own work habits by copying those of our Creator. In our previous session we learned about the importance of Spirit-led planning. Think first! When God did act, the first thing He commanded into existence was light: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

God did not make light so that He could see! Darkness and light are alike to God. God did not say that the darkness was bad, only that the light was “good.” God did immediate quality control. I believe He made light first so that we would learn, in all of our endeavours, to get enough “light” before we start more work.

The word “light” can be taken in the narrow sense of visible electro-magnetic energy or in the broad sense of knowledge. In its narrow meaning it points to getting a flashlight before trying to fix something in the dark basement. In the broad sense of the word, “light” can mean understanding. Ask yourself, do you have a clear plan to go forward? Do you have enough light to do the job? Have you read the instructions? Immediately, after creating light, God evaluated and organized what he made. In separating light from the darkness, it’s like separating fact from fiction, real news from fake news, and signal from noise. From my minuscule knowledge of computer science, I understand that most computer operations are sorting and separating data. God is organized. The creation scene changed from darkness to twilight to full light. Biblically, a day is evening and morning, not morning and evening. More on that next month.

Tom Lipp