The key to understanding Genesis 1 is to put it in its context – Genesis 1 is the rally cry for Israelite leaving Egypt to enter the Promised Land.

When we read through Genesis 1, it is easy to pick out that when God created the heavens and the earth, he did it with ABUNDANCE.

• “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.”
• “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
• “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds”
• “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God’s creation is ALIVE. Healthy living beings are naturally productive. The land will produce, the sea will produce, plants will produce, animals will produce, human will produce.

There are two ways to make our workplace productive: organically or artificially.

We can make our workplace productive by enslaving people – “work hard or you will lose your job”; or we can enslave people by enticing them with high pay. To be artificially productive, we drive people by money (or lack thereof).

To be organically productive, we rely on God’s gifts. We let our workers grow. We let our workers share in our vision. We are motivated by believing that our products and services will make the world a better place. To be organically productive is to drive people by love – God’s love for us and our love for our neighbors.

The Promise Land is “flowing with milk and honey”, not an enslaving sweat shop.