NILS VON KALM looks at why our work matters…
In our individualistic, ‘me first’ culture, time is of the essence. And to allow ourselves more time to do the things we want to do with our life, many of us believe that it is better to work to live rather than live to work. While the former is definitely to be preferred over the latter, the idea of working to live – that we do our work and get paid enough in order to live a quality life – also needs to be challenged.
Long ago we let go of the belief that work is beneficial to us. Work has inherent value in itself. Research shows us that it does wonders for our sense of self-worth. Just ask anyone who has recently landed a job after being unemployed for months or even years.
GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY: God has given us work, argues Nils von Kalm, because “it has inherent value in itself”. PICTURE: Jesse Orrico/Unsplash.
“This innate desire to work to live reflects a Western-type dualism that splits work from the rest of life. We talk about ‘work/life balance’, as if work is somehow separate from life. Such thinking, even if it is unintended, affirms the idea, even subconsciously, that work is something to be tolerated for the more important cause of our life outside it.”
At the same time though, our confused culture gives us the mixed messages that, while on the one hand it is best for ourselves and the economy that as many people as possible have a job; on the other hand, when we have a job, we try to get away from it as much as possible. We live for the weekend or for that next holiday. It has even been said, tongue-in-cheek, that while our neighbour, New Zealand, is the land of the long white cloud, Australia is the land of the long weekend!
This innate desire to work to live reflects a Western-type dualism that splits work from the rest of life. We talk about ‘work/life balance’, as if work is somehow separate from life. Such thinking, even if it is unintended, affirms the idea, even subconsciously, that work is something to be tolerated for the more important cause of our life outside it.
Tim Costello has said that, back in the 1970s, there was a lot of talk about how by the end of the 20th century we would all be working part-time because technology would be so advanced that machines and computers would do everything for us. But the reality is that, in Australia at least, we are working more hours than ever. The same has been said recently. Reports by the World Economic Forum and the International Labour Organisation predict that robots will take many jobs in the next two decades. But then other reports say that, by 2030, 80 per cent of jobs that will exist then have not been invented yet.
It looks like work will always be around for humans. One of the perceived benefits of the split between work and the rest of life is that we now have access to more time-saving devices than previously. But the irony is that the more we seek the life of leisure and try to save more time, the more stressed we become. Brenton Prosser, a sociologist at the Australian National University, believes that not only are Australians working longer, but that technological change has made work more stressful.
The human inclination to work goes to the very core of our identity, both individually and collectively. Richard Rohr says that the human soul can live without success but it cannot live without meaning. Thousands of people though are not fortunate enough to have work they find meaningful. Johann Hari says that 87 per cent of people don’t like their jobs. No wonder the rates of depression in our culture are so high. Meaningful work is crucial to our wellbeing.
The best type of work is that done for a purpose greater than our own satisfaction. In the Christian sense, it is work for a kingdom that reflects the character of the King.
Jesus never separated the secular and the sacred. Therefore, everything we do in life, including our work, matters. The Bible says a lot about work. Much of what we read in it occurs in a workplace. That might sound boring on the surface, but when we think of events such as Jesus’ miracles, we see ordinary tools of trade used. Take the feeding of the 5,000 as an example. Jesus performed this miracle through the ordinary familiar tools of the disciples – using fish. In that story, Jesus puts the onus back on the disciples to use what they have – five loaves and two fish – and Jesus does the rest.
“The very creation act itself was an act of work by God. And the renewal of creation that we work towards reflects the creativity of the Creator. The human calling is to be co-creators with God. This is why ideally, work gives us so much meaning. “
If Jesus were here in person today and visited our places of work, He might ask us, “What do you have to work with?”, and we could reply, “a couple of copies of Excel and a few PCs,” or “a factory and some construction equipment”. Jesus would then say, “OK, get to work crunching numbers,” or “get the construction equipment working”. God uses the ordinary tools we have, to work with us to renew the world.
The very creation act itself was an act of work by God. And the renewal of creation that we work towards reflects the creativity of the Creator. The human calling is to be co-creators with God. This is why ideally, work gives us so much meaning. It is also why everything we do in our work is to be done to the very best of our ability. God didn’t look at the creation and say it was mediocre. He looked at it and said it was good. Excellence in our work is a witness to the character of God.
Notice too that the call to work in Genesis is a pre-Fall event. Work is part of the original calling that God gave us. That is not to say that rest is not beneficial either. Jesus took time to rest, to get away from the crowds to recharge.
God has given us work because it has inherent value in itself. It has value socially, individually, emotionally, psychologically and physically. Ideally, work is relational and helps us to live as a community of people operating together for a common cause.
It’s difficult to change the mindset that sees work as separate from our lives and not part of it. Work helps to provide a sense of the self-worth that God has created us with. We have been fearfully and wonderfully made. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all do our work the same way?
