January 5, 2005
-
The Gift of Work
As I've been contemplating (ok, slightly dreading) my first workday of the year, I spent tonight reading this article by Dr. Scorgie entitled "The Gift of Vocation: A Christian perspective on Work". I'll share with y'all a few sniplets that caught my attention:
"Surveys show that the vast majority of North Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs. American society today generally views work as a necessary evil at best, and concludes that the less of it the better. Part of the American dream is to plan shrewdly enough to say good-bye to employment hassles as early as possible, retire with a comfortable income, and then begin to enjoy life as it was intended: care-free, responsibility-free and work-free. Hello, RVs and par-threes. With cultural ideals like these, is it any wonder that the fabled work ethic is in decline?
Unfortunately Christians tend to buy rather uncritically into these prevailing attitudes. Like most everyone else we raise our voices in the nationwide chorus of bleary-eyed groans on Monday mornings, and join in the impatient Friday afternoon countdowns to freedom."
"William Willimon, the dean of the chapel at Duke University, in his book on the topic of Clergy and Laity Burnout, observes with great insight that seldom is burnout the direct result of overwork. Hard and demanding work can often be remarkably energizing. Instead, argues Willimon, burnout is almost always the result of a loss of a sense of meaning in our labors.
We find sustained energy when we are engaged in something that we believe matters. Henry Scougall, a godly Scotsman of the last century, pointed out that every human being craves a cause worth exchanging one's life for. ... The key to fulfilment and happiness is not indolent inactivity, but to set as our goal to participate in God's ongoing purposes of creativity, earth-care, truth-telling and grace-giving through the responsible use of our gifts in the service of others."
This coming thursday will be my first work day of the year. I'm wrapping up my current project soon so ... I'm currently in the process of cleaning the dust off my resume and trying to figure out what to do next.
Comments (1)
You know, that article of Dr. Scorgie's became especially meaningful to me during the Fall. That was when I realized that work can be demoralizing and unemployment can be dehumanizing, under the right circumstances. But anyway, I'm very glad that I didn't have work this week in particular. Thanks for the phone call. Blessings.
Comments are closed.