Faith Venture

Zen master, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”

First century people had professions or labor.

They discovered the teachings of Jesus, changed the direction of their lives, became followers.

Paul reminded them to continue in their professions.

Same for us today. Follow Jesus. Change the direction, the meaning of our lives. Continue to perform work that improves the lives of those around us—or even far away.

Formerly men were made slaves under physical compulsion; now they are enslaved by the temptation of money and of the luxuries that money can buy. — Mahatma Gandhi

Some people like things to be simply good or bad, black and white, with no gray-scale or ambivalence.

I find paradox both true to real life and a prod to deep thinking.

For example—work.

Humans have always had to work. My dad picked up a phrase from his time in the Army in the Philippines at the conclusion of World War II. He took the phrase to mean if you don’t work you don’t eat. So from the time humans began life on earth, they’ve had to hunt and gather.

Societies grew larger and more complex. Eventually a stronger tribe would conquer another tribe and force people to do their work—slavery.

Many philosophers have thought about modern society concluding that many of us are voluntarily enslaved because we want more. TV came along and showed us middle class and upper middle class lives. We wanted more stuff like we saw on those programs. We worked longer hours. Both men and women went off to work in order to acquire more stuff.

On the other hand—the paradox—work can also be our creative outlet. The downside of my career resulted from working for many companies that went out of business. The upside was that almost every new position I found allowed for great creativity. Often I was the first in the position and got to forge the meaning of the position.

How do you choose your work?

Do you suffer long hours and abusive bosses in exchange for a salary and the pursuit of luxuries?

Do you find work that allows great creativity and satisfaction? Does it allow you to live where you’d like?

If you are in the first group, I encourage you to start looking for something in the second.

Today is a holiday in America called Labor Day. Originally meant as a day to recognize and celebrate the contribution of laborers to the country in 1882. A little more than 10 years later the idea of setting aside the first Monday in September made it into Federal law.

For more than 50 years, maybe 70, unofficially, Labor Day really marks the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Traditionally school started the day after Labor Day, so summer vacation was over.

Since I’ve written about manufacturing for the past 25 years after working in that industry before that, I’ve been reflecting on work.

Why do we work?

The story of Adam and Eve in the Hebrew scriptures implies that we work because we live separated from God. Had we continued to live with God, food would have been provided. I guess we’d have also had to live in climates where shelter requirements were minimal.

Jesus seemed to accept work as a fact expecting that we all had some sort of work. And he expected us to put in a fair day’s labor for a fair day’s pay.

Perhaps we work to express ourselves. We need to do something creative, whether for someone else for pay in order to eat or for ourselves out of the pure joy of producing something.

We do know that in America, where the standard is two weeks of vacation per year and many don’t even take those, that we have no idea of using leisure time well. So, I hope you all used the day well. Even if it’s not a holiday for you, still, use your day well.