The question of His Galila^an neighbours who were familiar with the circumstances of Jesus' early life, ' Is not this the worker in wood ? ' (6 T^KTwv, Mk 6^), shows clearly how fully He adopted this principle as regulating the prepara- tory discipline of His young manhood. Nor must we forget that it was amongst that class which is dependent for its livelihood upon its capacity for piiysical labour and endurance that Jesus gained His most thouuhtful, whole-hearted adherents (cf. Mk li«-2o = Mt 418-22, Lk jSff-), while many of His most beautiful and effective similes are taken from the surronndiniis of the busy life (cf. Jn 4^'''-, Lk 102'-, Mt 9="'- 201-15 etp ) On the other hand, He reserved His profoundest commiseration for those
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LABOUE
lamentatio:n"
upon whiOm superfluous wealth had imposed a selfish idleness (see Mt lO'^^'^-^Mk lO'-^ff-, Lk W^«-), and perhaps the most caustic remark in connexion with the life led by the unjust steward was that in which he confessed his inability for honest physical work {crKdwreiv ovk laxvw, Lk 16^).
The remarkable apocryphal addition to Lk 6* found in Codex Bezse (D), while primarily having- reference to the Sabbath controversy, may not be without its bearing on this question. This passage relates that Jesus ' seeing a certain man working on tlie Sabbath day said to him, " O, man, if thou indeed knowest what thou art doing, thou art blessed ; but if thou knowest not, thou art cursed, and art a transgressor of the law." ' Westcott believes that this saying ' rests on some real incident' (see his Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, App. C) ; and, indeed, the spirit underlying these words is not out of harmonj- with the general tenor of Christ's known atti- tude towards the active life of busy service. Whether any man's labour is a blessing or not to himself depends, of course, on whether he knows what he does and recognizes its bearing upon his whole life and character (cf . i! c'lha.; in tbe passage just quoted, where there is evidentl\' a reference to the relation between the work done and the doer of that work [see Cremer's Biblico-Theol. Lexicon of XT Greek, p. 229]).
A charge, Avhicli has been brought again and again against the Christian religion, is that it is too exclusive in its other - worldliness to be of practical value in the midst of life's stern realities. Enough has been already said to shoAV that such an accusation misinterprets completely the moving spirit of Christianity. At the same time, Ave must not forget that at a very early period of the Church's liistory there Avas a grave danger of pro- fessing Christians degenerating into idle dreamers and useless busybodies {wepiepyoi, 1 Ti 5^^, cf. 2 Th 3"). Against this abuse St. Paul felt compelled repeatedly to contend (cf. Eph 4^^, 1 Th 4"), Avhile he set the examjjle in his own life of unflagging industry (see Ac 18^ etc.). There can be no doubt that in his restatement of the laAv of social econ- omics (' if any Avill not Avork, neither let him eat,' 2 Th 3^0) St. Paul Avas profoundly influenced by the life as well as by the teaching of Jesus.
No thoughtful student of modern problems can fail to note hoAv completely the future of the Christian Church is bound up Avith her attitude toAvards the labour question. Year by year that question assumes graver proportions as the danger of a complete breach betAveen employer and em- ployed becomes more formidable. Nor can there be any serious doubt in the mind of a loyal subject of 'the Kingdom of the Incarnation,' that in the true interests of Christian development and pro- gress a real active harmony of aims and aspirations betAveen capital and labour must be established. Representatives of both must be taught that the only solution of problems Avhich seem to baffle them lies in the recognition of the truth that at bottom all human life is true and sacred according as it may be measured in terms of service. Jesus, Avho employed labourers in fields of activity selected by Himself (cf. Mt 10^), points out distinctly the complete identification of employer and employed as being the root idea underlying all vital progress (65 dv d^Xr] iv vfiiv elvai wpuiros ^arai v/xQv dovXoi, Mt 2027, cf. Mk 10«). Nor is the Incarnation above the sphere of this universal laAV. The Son of Man Himself {iba-n-ep) came not to be served but to serve (SiaKovrjcrai), yielding up even His life for the sake of His felloAv-men {Mrpov dvrl iroWuv, Mk 10*^ = Mt 2028 ; cf. Lk 222«f- ).
'The labourer is Avorthy of his hire' (Lk IC) is a basal principle both broad and deep. It does not mean either that the employer's liability to his servant is discharged Avhen he has paid him his stipulated Avage, or that the latter's duty to his master ends Avith the outAvard fulfilment of a set task. Personal relationship involving mutual re- sponsibility forms an essential part in the Chris- tian solution of this economic problem. For the labourer is no longer in the position of a bond-
servant but of a friend, and is to be recognized as such {ovK€TL \4yo} vfids 8ou\ovs . . . Vfxds 8e ei'prjKa <f)i\ovs, Jn 15''').
Literature. — See three remarkable addresses on social service by Westcott in his Christian Aspects of Life, especially that on ' The Christian Law,' in which he quotes from Bishop 'Tucker of Uganda the salutation ordinarily addressed in that country to a man engaged in manual labour, 'Many thanks; well done,' Consult also Westcott, Social Aspects of Christianity ; W. H. M. H. Aitken, Temptation and Toil, p. 209; E. Griffith-Jones, Economics of Jesxis (1905) ; and The Citizen of To-morrow (ed. S. E. Keeble), esp. ch. vi. with the bibliography on ]i. 123.