Today, we celebrate Labor Day in the United States—an annual celebration of workers and their achievements. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. In those days, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages.
People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.
As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.
On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday, which became law in 1894.
My Proverbs study has a lot to say about hard work and sluggards. In fact, Solomon had quite a sense of humor when describing sluggards. His goal was to prod listeners into committing themselves fully to a lifestyle of diligence.
Click here to learn more from the wisdom of Proverbs
