Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September.

Labor Day was created by the labor movement to honor the achievements of American workers. It is a yearly tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our nation.

The very first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. Two years later, the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, and labor officials in New York City urged labor organizations in other cities to follow New York’s example and celebrate a “workingman’s holiday” on that date.

Finally, in 1894 (an election year), President Grover Cleveland signed into law a bill that would officially make Labor Day a national holiday. He had hoped that in doing so he would gain the support of workers for his reelection. It didn’t work, and he lost.

While the holiday has its roots in the political movement of workers, today the holiday is more a tribute to summer’s last long weekend. Still, honoring work and those who do it is a good thing to do, and it has a biblical basis. In the Bible we learn that God wants his people to pay workers fairly and promptly (Deuteronomy 24:14, 15 and Malachi 3:5). Hard work is encouraged (Ecclesiastes 5:12) and laziness is criticized (Proverbs 10:4; 10:26; 12:24). And Paul urged believers to follow his example and work hard so that they would not be a burden to anyone (1 Thessalonians 2:9).

In addition, God also honors all those who work for him. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that our work is important. Whatever work we do for God—whether it’s helping out with Sunday school or volunteering to collect food for the needy—will have eternal results.

So what are you waiting for? Get to work!

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless (1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT).

To Do

Write a note to one or more of the “workers” in your life—a teacher, pastor, police officer, doctor—and thank them for the work they do to help make your life better.

Also on this day

Today is Emma M. Nutt Day in honor of the first telephone operator.

1972—America’s Bobby Fischer beat Russia’s Boris Spassky to become world chess champion. The chess match took place in Reykjavik, Iceland.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005).