Laboring Days

The issue of work is something that confuses many Christians.

Until a few years ago, I often held to the mistaken idea--believed, sadly, by many--that work was a result of living in a sin-cursed world. After all, didn't God promise Adam and Eve that when they were banished from the Garden that they would have to start working? Isn't the daily grind we all partake in day in and day out simply the consequence of being sinners?

Not exactly.

When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, they were told not that they would have to start working, but rather that their work would now become toilsome and futile. The idea of work was actually designed before the Fall, when God made Adam a steward of all Creation and commanded him to subdue it. The work at that point was a joyful employment, free of drudgery and frustration--it was part of who Adam was and what he was created to do. As beings created in God's image, we are creative entities, made for good work, gifted and equipped to fulfill certain tasks that God has ordained for us to do.

Without sin, it would have been a joyful and glorious activity that we would do in service to God with joy and confidence. The consequences of sin, however, has made work hard, stressful, frustrating and even unbearable for some.

It's this odd dichotomy--stress mixed with pleasure--and the idea of righteous workmanship that has been on my mind for the past few months as I've struggled with adapting to a new job.

For four years, I worked as a reporter for a weekly newspaper. It was the most fun I ever had--the staff I worked with was incredible and every day I felt like I was going to camp, not to the office. I had a freedom to cover what I wanted and to experiment with my writing if I so desired--during that time I had the opportunity to stretch my creative muscles with long feature stories, columns and reviews.

More than that, there was a sense of pride and importance in what I did. Part of it was due to ego--there is a swell of pride in knowing that you can get the Mayor out of a meeting with a phone call or that you've worked with the cops long enough to get out of speeding tickets. But more than that, there was a feeling of identity--I was a known name in the community. I was the one people called with questions and concerns. If citizens were upset about something in the area, they could give me a call and I'd look into it. I had the cell numbers of township trustees and also was trusted enough to meet with concerned residents to discuss important and controversial events.

I'm a big supporter of community news. It links people with their elected officials. It tells what's going on in the readers' own backyard. Parents clip out the stories and place them in scrapbooks if their children are mentioned. And I was a part of that very important process, a voice in the community. It was the rare job that created an identity in me--I was proud to tell people I was a reporter for the Source and, if I met anyone from my zone, I always made sure they knew how important my job was to me.

I left that job in February to take a more financially-sound opportunity. Some would say I sold out and that might be partially right. I left behind journalism to do something more closely related with marketing and public relations. But, at heart, I've always been a writer and I took a job that still allows me to do what I love most.

I work for a contractor that deals with the military. I write articles for an online newsletter and a quarterly magazine. The articles are not as sexy as the ones I had at the paper--mostly technical articles that I can't even bring myself to read once they're published (although I also remind myself that budget and millage stories are not exactly sexy). I do work around military types who have a certain importance within their arena--but the truth is that, while I afford them a professional respect, it's hard to get excited about a rank or title when you've been able to call the mayor on their cell phone while they're on vacation or sat face-to-face with an Oscar-winning director. And while I'm writing stories about important work going on that actually saves lives, the truth is that it's not news that anyone NEEDS to know...it's not work that's going to impact their kids at school, keep their community safe or change the way business in their town is done.

These aren't complaints. Simply observations. Every job has frustrations--when I worked at the newspaper, the truth was that I also had them. I sometimes wondered who in the world cared about a senior citizen artist of the month. I groaned at every ideologue who took a potshot at my columns. And I had to face the facts that as much as I loved what I did, the wage I was being paid did not offer any substantial financial support.

So, it's just another example of that toil that we have as a result of living post-Fall. The truth is that the job I have now is a very good one; sometimes it's stressful and frustrating, but it's still a good one. And any time I miss the creative punch of journalistic writing, I can craft something for my writer's group or take on a freelance project (I still do reviews for the paper).

I just have to face the fact that this job is just that: a job. It's not my identity. It's not where my fulfillment lies. It's a job that I do and try to do well for 40 hours a week. But after that, I go home to the things that matter most.

And so, facing that shift, I've begun to wonder what my employment as a Christian is to be during my employment 40 hours a week. And I've come up with two answers.

The first is that--whether this job galvanizes me the way that my position as a reporter did or not--my job is to do my work to the best of my ability, with a focus on excellence and quality. Not because it's important work or because my employer asks me too--although those are all good reasons. Rather, I have been commanded to glorify God in all that I do. To do my work without grumbling and complaining and to do so with an attitude that my work is for God and not for man.

I try to remind myself each morning what that means. It means that I don't have a choice whether to be joyful at work or not--rather, it is my duty as a follower of Christ to realize what a gift He has provided with employment (particularly right now in the state of Michigan). It is to realize that He has given me talents and skills that are unique to me and placed me in a position to meet the needs faced by a company where I can be a servant. I'm commanded to work humbly, to submit to my employers joyfully and to work with an attitude that is no different than if God Himself was giving me my tasks.

If I do that, then I can work with a confidence that no matter what complaints I might here or what frustrations might occur, I know there will be a peace I have about my work. Will I be perfect? No. Will I always have a good day? No. But if I set my mind every morning that God has given me this day with 8 hours of work to be accomplished and I actually set about doing so with a joyful attitude, servant's heart and a workman's ethic, I can rest confidently at the end of the day that I have done the right thing. It frees me from the expectations of others--and, truthfully, my own high expectations for myself--by allowing me to realize what God has placed in my path.

The second part actually comes in relation to my realization that the job is not my place of ultimate fulfillment or identity. I think that realization may be another great cause for celebration and freedom.

I know it's cliche to say this, but I don't live to work...I work to live. My life and identity may include what I do 40 hours a week in an office, but it is not solely encapsulated in that. I know people who check their e-mails late into the evening, talk about work after getting out of the office and make it the center of their life. It makes me very sad to think that a person's life and identity could be wrapped up solely in a job that they do for only a few years and that, in the decades to come, will be forgotten. I worry that I would have become that person had I stayed in journalism...the person who's life is defined by their work, upward climb and desire for recognition.

It's freeing to have a job that doesn't have the burden of fulfilling me. I can work harder, knowing that there's a life waiting for me after my shift. I can appreciate my employment more, knowing that I don't live to work but that I can make my job work for me...that the work I do is what earn the money to pay my rent, buy groceries and enjoy life on the evenings and weekends.

More than that, it's that realization that my job doesn't complete me that allows me to glorify God with the rest of my life. It reminds me not to overwork but to take time in the evening to sit with the Word and pray. It reminds me to set a precedence of working hard but also getting into the habit of not staying too late or working too much so I can have the habit set of coming home in the evenings, which I will be adamant about doing when I have children. I realize that the job has given me is a good thing...but it's not THE good thing. Employment is part of the wonderful way in which we can glorify God...but our employment also is a tool. It's the means by which God allows us to earn money to support the things that do give us fulfillment and joy...supporting our families, earning money to give to the church and to missions or simply coming home from a long day to enjoy a quiet evening of rest.

I think on this Labor Day, it's an important reminder to have.

--C