Work immediately conjures up feelings of labour, dread and strife but does it have to be this way? Is work purely a means to an end or can work hold more purpose in it's definition?
If we look at work from a biblical perspective, we see in Genesis that it is only by the sweat of our brow that we will eat of the cursed ground we live on which is a pretty clear picture that work is always going to require energy and a certain amount of hard slog. A few chapters on in the good book however, we read in Ecclesiastes that it is good and proper for man to eat and drink and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labour under the sun in the few days of life that God has given to him - because this is his lot. Moreover, when God enables a man to accept his lot and be happy in his work, this is a gift from God. It is then that he will seldom reflect on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. So... although work is going to be toilsome and it is clearly our lot, i.e. a man must work to eat. It is possible to find satisfaction and happiness in our work and gladness of heart while performing it. Colossians tells us that whatever we do, we must do as if doing it for God and not for man. If we follow this precept, we can but only do the best job we know how to do... what more can a man do than his best?
As with everything, it boils down to our personal perception of what work is. If we accept work as our lot and as a part of our life, we will find something that has meaning to us. It is not simply a means to an end and it is not the financial reward that should motivate us at the end of the day. If we are passionate about what we do, we will find satisfaction in our work and it stands to reason that we will do the work well, and the more effective we are at our work, the more satisfaction we will find in our work. It stands to reason that work with a purpose beyond ourselves is work worth doing. There is however a new perception that we must all adopt. Our work not only has a purpose in itself, a purpose beyond ourselves, but our work has a purpose in our own lives. There will always be those days where our work is not as satisfactory as we would like it to be... if at all. In the words of Oswald Chambers, this purpose is called "Drudgery". "Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work." When we experience drudgery, our true spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. It is one of the finest tests to determine the genuiness of our character. When we face drudgery, how do we respond? What is our first innitiative against it? It is when we face drudgery that we must act as if there were no God at all. It is when we arise from the drudgery, that we find that God is right there with us, it is when we prove our character to be one that persists and perseveres despite the circumstances, it is when we act in obedience despite feeling alone and unfulfilled in our work that we suddenly recognise His presence in our work and the purpose we both serve and experience through our toil. "If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed."
The short of the long of it, is that God can transform any work... even the menial, hard, tiresome and dirty work into work that is satisfactory and fulfilling. How are you going to respond to drudgery next time your work is not absolutely ideal?
Check out http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=02&day=19&year=07 for the article on drudgery. 19th Feb 2007.
