By Larry  Robinson 

September 7, 2026

Every Labor Day, Americans pause to recognize the dignity and contribution of work.

It is a day to honor the men and women whose labor has built our communities, produced our food, constructed our homes, manufactured our goods, transported our products, cared for our families, and created the businesses that provide livelihoods for millions of Americans.

Labor Day has an important history connected with the American labor movement and the efforts of workers to improve working conditions. But the American story of labor is even larger.

It is also the story of the farmer who works his land, the tradesman who masters his craft, the family that opens a small business, and the entrepreneur who risks everything on an idea that might—or might not—succeed.

America was built by people who worked.

And very often, they worked without knowing whether their efforts would succeed.

The Farmer: Where American Labor Begins

Long before America’s skyscrapers, factories, interstate highways, and technology companies, there was the farm.

Generations of American farmers rose before daylight and worked until sunset.

They cleared forests. They broke difficult ground. They planted crops. They raised livestock.

They endured droughts, floods, insects, disease, fluctuating prices, and uncertain harvests.

Their livelihood depended upon things they could influence but never completely control.

The farmer understands one of life’s oldest lessons:

You cannot harvest what you are unwilling to plant.

Scripture expresses the principle simply:

“The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.”
— 2 Timothy 2:6

Farming requires patience because the farmer works today for something he cannot immediately see.

He plants before he harvests. He works before he receives the reward.

James used the farmer to illustrate perseverance:

“See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”
— James 5:7

That spirit of perseverance has been part of the American character from the beginning.

The farmer’s work also reminds us of something easily forgotten when we walk through a modern supermarket:

Food doesn’t originate on a grocery-store shelf.

Somebody planted it.

Somebody raised it.

Somebody harvested it.

Somebody processed it.

Somebody transported it.

Somebody stocked it.

Behind almost everything we consume stands someone’s labor.

This Labor Day, the American farmer deserves our gratitude.

The Small Business Owner: The Person Who Unlocks the Door

Then there is another American institution that deserves recognition:

The small business.

Drive through almost any American town and look around.

The family restaurant.

The hardware store.

The auto-repair shop.

The construction company.

The barber shop.

The bakery.

The coffee shop.

The landscaping company.

The independent retailer.

I remember when we all used and needed the local cobbler.  The cobbler kept our dress shoes looking and usable.  New Soles and Heels allowed us to get years of use out of our dress shoes.  Then modern injected molded shoes replaced the every day dress shoe. Only the wealthy still purchased handmade dress shoes.  Truly a lost art and a reflection of our “throw away society”.

The online store being operated from someone’s spare bedroom.

Behind every one of those businesses is a person who at some point decided:

“I’m going to try.”

People often see the finished business.

They don’t always see what happened before the doors opened.

They don’t see the savings invested.

The sleepless nights.

The paperwork.

The bills.

The equipment purchases.

The inventory.

The insurance.

The taxes.

The advertising that didn’t work.

The customers who didn’t show up.

The mistakes.

The uncertainty.

And sometimes the terrifying question:

“Can I make payroll this week?”

The employee normally knows what he or she will earn for working a particular number of hours.

The small-business owner sometimes works 60 hours without knowing whether there will be anything left for himself after everyone else is paid.  That is labor too.

The Entrepreneur: Risking Today to Build Tomorrow

America has also been shaped by people willing to imagine something that didn’t yet exist.

The entrepreneur looks at a problem and asks:

“Could there be a better way?”

Sometimes it begins in a garage.

Sometimes around a kitchen table.

Sometimes in a workshop.

Sometimes on a farm.

Today it may begin with nothing more than a laptop, an idea, and an internet connection.

The entrepreneur creates.

Experiments.

Fails.

Adjusts.

Tries again.

And sometimes succeeds.

When that happens, something remarkable can occur.

One person’s idea becomes another person’s job.

A small workshop becomes a factory.

A kitchen recipe becomes a restaurant.

A homemade product becomes a brand.

A farmer’s innovation increases production.

An invention becomes an industry.

A tiny family business eventually employs hundreds or thousands of people.

That is one of the extraordinary features of enterprise:

Wealth can be created rather than merely divided.

When entrepreneurs create products and services people voluntarily choose to purchase, value is created for both sides of the transaction.

The customer receives something desired.

The business receives income.

Employees receive wages.

Suppliers receive orders.

Communities receive economic activity.

And successful businesses frequently create opportunities that didn’t exist before.

Before They Were Big Businesses, Many Were Small Businesses

We sometimes speak about “business” as though businesses simply appeared fully formed. They don’t.

Nearly every great enterprise began much smaller than it eventually became.

Someone had an idea.

Someone invested money.

Someone took a chance.

Someone encountered failure.

Someone kept going.

And behind countless successful businesses were families who sacrificed stability because they believed they could build something better.

The American economy has repeatedly benefited from allowing ordinary people the freedom to say:

“I have an idea. Let me try.”

That simple freedom has unleashed enormous human creativity.

 

Work Has Dignity

There is also a deeper principle worth remembering on Labor Day.

Work has dignity.

Work is not merely something we endure until the weekend.

Long before the Fall, Scripture says:

“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” — Genesis 2:15

Work existed before sin.

The curse made work painful and frustrating, but work itself was part of God’s original design.

Paul later instructed Christians:

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Colossians 3:23

That transforms our understanding of labor.

There is dignity in growing food.

There is dignity in repairing an automobile.

There is dignity in operating a cash register.

There is dignity in driving a truck.

There is dignity in constructing a house.

There is dignity in running a business.

There is dignity in designing a product.

There is dignity in caring for children.

There is dignity in cleaning a building.

There is dignity in creating something beautiful.

There is dignity in honest work.

The dignity doesn’t come merely from the size of the paycheck.

It comes from the value of productive labor and the person performing it.

 

The Forgotten Labor of the Business Owner

Labor Day naturally causes us to think about employees, and rightly so.

But we should also remember the labor performed by the people who create the jobs.

The small-business owner frequently wears every hat.

He may be:

the salesperson in the morning,
the bookkeeper at lunch,
the delivery driver in the afternoon,
the janitor after closing,
and the person worrying about tomorrow at midnight.

Entrepreneurs aren’t exempt from labor because they own the business.

Many work extraordinarily long hours precisely because they own it.

They assume risks their employees normally do not.

If the business fails, they may lose:

their income,
their savings,
their investment,
and sometimes years of work.

If the business succeeds, however, they may create opportunities for many other families.

That contribution deserves recognition on Labor Day too.

The American Farmer and Entrepreneur Share Something Important

At first glance, a farmer and a technology entrepreneur may seem to have little in common.

But look more closely.

Both plant something today hoping for a harvest tomorrow.

The farmer plants seed.

The entrepreneur plants capital, ideas, and effort.

Neither is guaranteed success.

Both face circumstances beyond their control.

Both must adapt.

Both must persevere.

Both understand delayed gratification.

And both understand something increasingly difficult to teach:

There is often a long distance between effort and reward.

The harvest rarely comes the morning after planting.

America Was Built by Makers

America’s history isn’t merely the history of presidents, generals, politicians, and government institutions. It is also the history of ordinary people who made things.

People who:

grew things,
built things,
invented things,
repaired things,
transported things,
sold things,
and dreamed things.

Farmers produced food.

Miners extracted resources.

Railroad workers connected a continent.

Tradesmen built towns.

Factory workers manufactured goods.

Truckers delivered them.

Merchants sold them.

Inventors improved them.

Entrepreneurs created entirely new industries.

And small-business owners turned America’s Main Streets into centers of community life.

America was not built by one class of people.

It was built by millions of people working.

Freedom and Individualism Makes Enterprise Possible

There is another ingredient in the American story that should not be overlooked:

Freedom.

The freedom to own property.

The freedom to choose an occupation.

The freedom to start a business.

The freedom to invent.

The freedom to compete.

The freedom to succeed.

And yes—the freedom to fail and try again.

Economic freedom does not guarantee that every person will succeed.

Nothing can.

But it gives people something enormously valuable:

The opportunity to try.

When human creativity and freedom come together, remarkable things can happen.

A person who begins with little can build something valuable.

A worker can become an owner.

An apprentice can become a master craftsman.

A farmer can improve his land.

An immigrant can open a shop.

A family can create a business that passes from one generation to another.

An inventor can transform an industry.

That possibility has been central to the American dream.

 

Labor and Entrepreneurship Need Each Other

Labor Day should not become an artificial contest between workers and business owners.

Healthy businesses need good workers.

Workers need healthy businesses.

Entrepreneurs need skilled employees.

Employees need people willing to invest capital and create enterprises.

Farmers need equipment manufacturers.

Manufacturers need workers.

Retailers need suppliers.

Suppliers need transportation.

Customers need all of them.

We are far more economically interconnected than political slogans sometimes suggest.

The success of one part of the economy often creates opportunity for another.

America works best when we recognize the dignity and contribution of both labor and enterprise.

An Honest Day’s Work Still Matters

Technology changes.

Industries change.

The economy changes.

But some values should never become obsolete:

Show up.

Keep your word.

Work hard.

Learn your craft.

Treat people fairly.

Produce something worthwhile.

Take responsibility for your mistakes.

Save for tomorrow.

Help your neighbor.

Keep going when things become difficult.

These principles are not glamorous.

But generations of Americans built lives, families, farms, businesses, and communities upon them.

Paul gave Christians a remarkably practical instruction:

“Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands…” — 1 Thessalonians 4:11

There is something honorable about being able to look back at the end of a day and say:

“I did something worthwhile today.”

This Labor Day, Remember the People Behind What We Have

When you sit down for your Labor Day meal, remember the farmer.

When you walk into a neighborhood business, remember the person who took the risk to open it.

When a package arrives at your door, remember the network of workers and businesses that made it possible.

When you see a new invention, remember that somebody once had an idea everyone else thought was impossible.

When you see a successful company, remember that somewhere in its history someone probably experienced a day when success seemed anything but certain.

And when you meet someone trying to start something new, encourage them.

America needs people willing to work.

America needs people willing to build.

America needs people willing to create.

America needs people willing to take responsible risks.

America needs farmers.

America needs skilled workers.

America needs tradesmen.

America needs small-business owners.

America needs inventors.

America needs entrepreneurs.

Celebrating the People Who Built America

This Labor Day, let us celebrate work.

Let us honor the employee who gives an honest day’s labor.

Let us honor the farmer who feeds families he will never meet.

Let us honor the tradesman who takes pride in doing the job correctly.

Let us honor the truck driver who keeps America supplied.

Let us honor the family business that has served its community for generations.

Let us honor the small-business owner who signs the front of the paycheck as well as the worker who signs the back.

And let us honor the entrepreneur who looks at something that doesn’t yet exist and says:

“I think I can build it.”

Government can establish laws and institutions.

Capital can provide resources.

But ultimately, people build things.

People plant.

People invent.

People repair.

People manufacture.

People serve.

People invest.

People take risks.

People work.

That spirit of productive labor, individual initiative, perseverance, and enterprise has played an indispensable role in making America what it is.

So on this Labor Day, may we remember not only the jobs that Americans perform, but the character behind generations of American achievement:

Faith. Work. Courage. Ingenuity. Perseverance. Enterprise.

And may we never lose respect for the farmer in the field, the worker at his trade, the family behind the counter, or the entrepreneur burning the midnight oil trying to turn tomorrow’s possibility into reality.

Happy Labor Day to everyone who works, builds, creates, serves, grows, risks, and dreams.