Dr. Lawrence Butler, The Bridge Church, Pembroke

In a few days America will celebrate one of its longstanding holidays that honors the working people of this country. The First Industrial Revolution had probably concluded somewhere around the middle of the 19th century.

However, there was so much more coming as the world, including the US, moved from hand production methodology to the use of machines. The Second Industrial Revolution occurred roughly from 1870 to 1914. The use of new technologies like electricity, steel, and the internal combustion engine led to major changes in our approach to the production of goods. These improvements led to massive overhauls of transportation, manufacturing and communication.

The changes in American society were overwhelming. People left their farms and agricultural-based jobs to move to the cities for better wages and quality of life. This transition in our culture established a new working class that often existed in circumstances with poor pay and even worse living conditions. Danger abounded everywhere in the factories, and that’s not even mentioning the unhealthy food products being sent forth.

However, over time, workers began uniting and negotiating with employers to improve their lot in life.

The government got involved with the establishment of health and safety standards, both in working conditions and improved products, but especially in food production.

As the workers became stronger in numbers, they wanted a day of celebration to honor the working men and women of our country.

The first celebration occurred in New York in 1882 with a parade, made up of about 10,000 workers who took an unpaid day off work to attend. Eventually this concept was approved by Congress in 1894 as an official holiday, and the celebration continues until today.

Enjoy the holiday, but remember this. First, God recognized man did not need to overwork his human body, so He gave him a Sabbath day of rest. Labor Day is a holiday – but remember, holiday came from an Old English word meaning a “holy day.” These days were set aside for religious purposes, called “convocations” in the Bible. God gave us the whole concept to bless us. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).