Work, work, work

What is your contribution to the society in which you live?

That’s my thought as I compose this post a few days in advance of my normal schedule. I’m composing early (much preferred over decomposing early) because Mrs. Sweetie and I are heading out of town for a Labor Day weekend camping trip with some of our kids and grands.

Do you remember when Labor Day became a National Holiday?

Note that I did not say, “do you know” but “do you remember.”

If you remember, you are amazingly old. There is no other way to say that.

President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September a national holiday on June 28, 1894.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.”

This concludes the historical and educational portion of this week’s post. (Whew!)

As with many things, “labor” and “work” can generate some strong opinions.

Some of those opinions fall along political lines, some along generational lines, some along cultural lines, and some along lines that are not easy to distinguish.

I have observed some of the following ideas about work:

1. Hard work is its own reward. Knowing that you gave your best to your work and didn’t quit before quitting time is the only reward you need. Your contribution to society is that you work hard and pay your own way.
2. Work is a means to the end of production. Your value is not simply in work, but that you actually accomplish something by your work. You produce—or contribute to the production of—something of value to society.
3. Work is a means to the end of accumulation. You work so that you can have nice things and demonstrate your value by what you have.
4. Work is a means to the end of advancement. You work your way up the ladder so that you can show your value by how may people are working for you.
5. Work is a means to the end of leisure. You work so that you can put yourself in a position where you no longer have to work.
6. Work is a means to the end of legacy. You work so that you can pass on what you have accumulated to your heirs and beneficiaries.
7. Work is an expression of your creativity and passion. You do the work you love because it fulfills you.

Those are some motivations off the top of my head today.

May I offer one additional perspective?

Is it possible to engage in rhythms of work, rest, and play as an expression of our engagement with God in the rhythms of His kingdom?

Is it possible that our “work” is not the “jobs” we do or the “deliverables” we produce, but the way we direct our spiritual, physical, and emotional energies for the benefit of the community and for the glory of God?

Is it possible that our greatest work may never be seen or celebrated, but that we will hear God say those amazing words at the end of our lives: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Just a few random thoughts.

Be amazing today, my friend.