Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Victorious Living

Home
Family, Parenting and Religion
The Purposes of Celebrating Work

The Purposes of Celebrating Work

Last updated on: September 2, 2021 at 5:00 am by Victorious Living

The Purposes of Celebrating Work 2021-08-09T14:09:23-04:00 Victorious Living

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When I was a kid, I had no idea what Labor Day was about. It didn’t really matter. A day off of school was a day off of school. Pretty interesting that we have a day to celebrate work (and that we celebrate work by taking a day off).

The Value of Work

We often talk, in our culture, about a work-home balance. By which we mean, spending an appropriate amount of time in each arena. We talk about the meaning of life and the value of our time with our families. Work becomes a means to these ends. We work to obtain the resources in order to get what we need for a meaningful life.

We don’t often talk about the meaning of work. And we don’t often use conversations about work-home balance to encourage us to be at the office more. For many, work is a necessary evil. Or, at the very least, a necessary obligation. We dream of days of retirement, when this necessary obligation is laid to rest.

My parents recently retired and, like all retirees, they are struggling to maintain a sense of purpose. Work, then, was a part of their meaningful life. Not just a stuffy obligation. It, like home and vacation and free time and everything else, was a significant and valuable aspect of their existence.

The Meaning of Work

We think of work as obligation for one very simple reason. It takes effort. It hurts. The whole idea of work is based on the concept of sacrifice. It costs us something.

And we don’t like that. In our increasing obsession with ease and comfort, the very idea of work is an obstacle that needs to be overcome or avoided.

We take this line of reasoning to our own peril.

Work is one of the ways in which we contribute to our communities. We are serving others by our work. The effort we expend is not just wasted. It is transferred to others.

Not only that, work is one of the ways in which we display our character. The very core of who we are requires action. Love is not content being a concept, nor a set of words. It needs to be displayed. It needs to be activated. Everything of purpose in our lives works the same way. Our passion, skill, and heart comes out in what we do.

Now, some of you at this point are recognizing that there are totally different kinds of jobs. A person who is a poet, for example, recognizes all of this innately. A school teacher might be able to see how they are using their passion to serve their community. But a banker? A plumber? A cashier?

It really is no different. What we do is an extension of who we are. And there is not greater value in being someone who speaks well, versus someone who works with their hands, or someone who can help others figure out solutions to their problems.

All of our work is open to the same set of temptations: we can make an idol out of it, we can ignore it/take it for granted, or we can be lukewarm about it. And all of our work is open to the same opportunity to perceive – seeing work as valuable, as a way to express who we are, and as an opportunity to serve others.

I would go as far as to say this: if we continue to perceive work as a means to an end, we will never get to that end. Because the problem is structural; it is an error of perception. We can only find purpose in our vacationing, our home life, and our retirement, if we can also find purpose in our work. There is not one arena that magically unlocks meaning in our lives. The magic is in perceiving the true value of all arenas, transforming our focus and our attitude.

Victorious living requires a true perspective around home, rest, and work. The effort of our endeavors surely costs us something, but what it gains far outweighs the sacrifice.

And that is something worth celebrating.

Previous Post

August 31, 2021

Learning How to Learn

Next Post

September 7, 2021 The Power of Universal Motivation

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Choices Conflict Resolution Culture Change Emotions Failure Faith Fear Freedom V Growth Healthy Communication Hope Identity Influence Leadership Learn Mistakes Mood Curve Ownership Perspective Power Relationships Self-Awareness Self-Governance Systems Thinking Three Things You Control Transformational Leadership Trust Truth Uncategorized Values Vision

Select a Month January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Stephen see as he was being stoned?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God A bright light from heaven Angels descending The face of God

Books by This Author Books by Victorious Living

See All Titles »