Work as a Sign of God’s Love

Charles Allen explains the meaning of an interesting work related sentence in the following story: A boy went to a farmer and asked to be given a job as a hired hand. The farmer asked, “Are you willing to work?” “Please sir, yes sir, I can sleep well on a windy night.” was his strange reply. “Can I trust you to look after my things?” the farmer asked. Again he replied, “Please sir, yes sir, I can sleep well on a windy night.” The farmer asked several questions seeking to determine if the boy was honest and trustworthy, but to each question he got only that one reply. He decided the boy might be a little foolish, but there was something about him the farmer liked, so he hired him. The boy proved to be a willing worker and everything went well until one night a big storm came up. The farmer heard it and rushed up to the boy’s room. “Get up,” he shouted, “let’s go tie down the hay stacks, put up the tools and secure the barn door.” However, the boy was so sound asleep the farmer could not wake him. Fearing that he would waste time trying to get him up, he rushed out to see about the things. When he came to the haystacks, he found them already firmly tied. He found the tools in their proper places in the barn and the doors closed securely. As he went back into the house, he realized what the boy had meant about sleeping well on a windy night. He meant that each day he did his job as best as he could and, even in the midst of a storm, he could sleep.

The boy took pride in what he did by doing it well and anticipating solutions to problems. He was a responsible, diligent worker. He illustrates how work tasks acquire dignity through the personal dignity of the worker, and how gaining self worth from what we do takes a place below giving worth to the work we do by how we do it. The boy had foresight and was conscientious. Conscientious is a beautiful word with many splendors such as care, decency, thoughtfulness, organizational qualities, dependability, nobility of character, and doing what is right. These are all good work habits that make life more manageable, less expensive and more attuned to our deeper needs and spiritual values. This is very different from a life dedicated to the largest, fastest, most powerful, latest or most expensive creations so popular today.

God created us to transform the world so that his work of creation continues through our good work habits, gifts, talents and effort. He entrusted the world to our care through our love, wisdom and labor. As God’s helpers, we exemplify God’s love by putting our knowledge and skills to good use according to God’s ordinances. Work helps us be co-creators with God, by upgrading society through actively caring for each other and contributing to the common good.

Hazards

What is potentially dangerous in helping co-create with God? We can get so over involved in work that other life giving areas are obstructed or neglected. If work becomes a compulsion or addiction, we need to regroup, relax and ask questions: Does our work hide or mask loneliness, fears, serious problems, needed communication with others, conflict in ourselves, or prevent moving forward on our spiritual journey? If we constantly submerge ourselves in work this could be used as an excuse to avoid prayer or spiritual development. Signs can be spending too much time at work, always thinking about work concerns, or continually working beyond the boundaries of what is ours to do. Involvement with work alone hampers experiencing daily joys and seeing life as a gift from God. Healthy work is balanced with prayer, leisure, study and an openness to all that is beautiful and life giving. 

Our orientation toward work has many facets, levels within each facet, and changes in facets that can be as often as year to year or minute to minute. Therefore, our attitude toward work can change like the wind, from enjoyable, to disagreeable, bitter, sweet, boring, exciting, frustrating, or rewarding. These attitudes should not be at the heart of our work. Work is inevitable, but no work or task is ideal. Therefore, it is best to focus on what we like about it. It is true that when the burdens of work dominate our thoughts, it is difficult to maintain a positive attitude. However, what we think shapes how we live. A positive attitude is a learned choice that helps our eyes stay on that distant small spark of light no matter how dark it is around us. That spark of light does not ignore negative aspects of a situation, but can prompt us to do something constructive about them rather than complain.

Charles Swindoll helps us along…

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.

How can we decrease or eliminate a persistent negative attitude toward something unpleasant we need to do? We can change our mind tape to something pleasant or jocular, focus on facts rather than attitude, or choose to go deeper than the attitude. We can say a few words of positive self talk, focus on a solution rather than the problem, or try to find the root cause of our negativity. We can talk to a positive person, find a bit of play that exists in almost any task, or make up a silly song or jocular poem that releases negativity. As a Christian, we can offer it up to God for a personal intention or view it as being part of the ongoing work of salvation. We can always perform disagreeable tasks for the salvation of souls or reparation for sin. 

Patience

Therese of Lisieux gives us a refreshing thought that broadens our perspective on irritating tasks, “Each small task of everyday life is art of the total harmony of the universe.” After we finish a task we leave the small irritants and unsavory details behind in order to feel positive about the process of task performance and what was produced. This will give honor to the work process and product. Through patience, especially with ourselves, the beauty of the process and product of work enriches us. To enjoy each step during a work task is an achievement and accomplishment. Patience confirms that work is love in action through harmony with faith made visible.

Faith joins our work with the redemptive work of Jesus. Through patience we unite with Jesus crucified as we endure the difficulties and hardships of our labor. We rest in his redeeming power when nothing seems to go right, accept what happens, do what we can within our circumstances, then step aside and let God take over. Doing our work within Christian tenants makes God’s love real in the world and we do our part in promoting God’s plan. Through our Christian quality of life and degree of goodness, we participate in the redemptive mission of Jesus.

Although work is an important part of life, it is not the center of our identity. We must remember work is not what we are primarily about and it should never control our existence. We are on a spiritual journey with and to God. The Dominican, Meister Eckhart, advises us “People should not think so much about what they do, but rather should they think upon what they are. If only they themselves were good and their way of life, then their works would give forth a beautiful light. If you yourself are just, then will your work be just. Do not think to found holiness upon doing, holiness must be founded upon being. Works do not make us holy. It is we who must make works holy. For no matter how holy works may be, they do not make us holy because we do them, but in so far as we within ourselves are as we should be, we make holy all that we do, whether it be eating, or sleeping, or waking, or what it may. Those whose nature is not great, no matter what they do, it will be as nothing.”