There is a common
saying that goes like this: “If you do something that you truly love,
then you’ll never work a single day in your life.” Surely, this conventional wisdom is an exaggeration. While it is true that many of us are employed
in occupations that we love and there are magical days in which we genuinely
love what we do and cannot imagine doing anything else. Yet, at the same time, there are aspects of
every occupation—or, periods of time—in which we genuinely hate or dread or
despise what we have to do. There is no
magic to what we do.
Sometimes it’s not what we do at
work, but rather the context in which we work that turns our days of toil into
tortured drudgery. During my time as
pastor at Meriden United Methodist Church, various members have shared some of
their struggles on the job, which take the magic out of labor:
Ø Having to do more and more because of budget
cuts and downsizing.
Ø Difficult conflicts with bosses or co-workers
Ø Company or institutional politics
Ø Being asked to do things that are unethical—or,
at least, marginally ethical.
Ø Working in an atmosphere that discourages or
is hostile to Christian faith
There can be other challenges as well.
For instance, sometimes we work with a constant fear that we are about
to be fired because we have a boss who seems to personally dislike us. Or, we fear that our employer is on the brink
of a downsizing that will result in the elimination of our job. Some persons have shared with me that they
only stay in their current position because they, or a family member,
desperately need the health insurance.
Sometimes, the greatest challenge of work is actually one of time
management: How do we balance the
demands of our job with the needs of our family; our church; our community; our
friends; and other interests that we have?
Despite all of the problems and challenges that we face at work, most
of us get more out of our work than just a paycheck. For many of us, our work provides opportunities
to contribute to the common good of society.
Through our jobs, many of us can help others who have needs or
problems. Our jobs can be a means of
ministry and service to our community, our society, and the world. We gain satisfaction and affirmation from
knowing that we did a job well. And, for
many of us, our self-identity is significantly related to our work. Who we are, at least partially, is defined by
what we do. So, work can be good.
Historically, the Christian faith has seen our work as a calling from
God; as a means for serving God and other persons through the use of special
talents and gifts that God has specifically given to each one of us. On Labor Day Sunday this week, I will focus
on this Christian understanding of work as a “calling” from God. I will talk about how many of our jobs are a
response to God’s call, in which we use our gifts and talents to serve
others.
But, I will also explore some of
the harder aspects of this claim. For
instance, what should we do when our work is not a “calling” from God, but
simply a job to provide income and/or health insurance for our families? What if we started off seeing our career, or
a particular position, as a “calling,” but gradually over time, the various
challenges and problems at work make us uncertain that we really are fulfilling
a “calling?” I call this the "boiling frog" syndrome. What should we do when we have become a boiling frog at work. Finally, how do we balance the
demands of work with the other demands of our lives?
I invite you to come on Sunday, as we explore the world of work and
Christian faith.
If you live in the Meriden-area and
do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United
Methodist Church. Meriden UMC is located
at the corner of Dawson and Main. Our
worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
