Will Work for Food

I think that deep within the heart of mankind is a need to work. Don't believe me? Take a boy and sit him down with a hammer, some scrap wood, and nails. Then leave. Go get some iced tea. Put your feet up. Read your favorite magazine. But whatever you do, don't take a nap. The sound of the hammering of nails will keep you up. They just can't help it. 

 

Now, don't get me wrong. Most of us have been lulled to sleep iPods and television. Our computers keep us up late as they spin tales in our head and delight our senses. But take all that away for a couple of hours and you'll find beneath all that sleepiness a mind and body that long to be at work. 

 

"Ha.." you say "Then why is it that I hate my job and long to be somewhere, anywhere, but there!" 

 

Good question, my friend, and thanks for asking.

 

I suppose we all have a variety of reasons for dreading Monday morning, but I suspect they boil down to a few commonalities. 

 

First, it's just a job. Really, many of us have a job that we have no real passion for. We work it to make the money to pay for life. That's about it. But what about those things you do have a passion for? You spend hours on those things, and though you may grow weary and frustrated, you probably don't hate it. You probably like it. Otherwise, why would you do it at all.

 

I know my logic is stunning you at this point. 

 

You may also miss community. I don't mean living "in a community". I mean living in community. We were created as beings that need other beings. We want to be in a place where we feel needed, respected, and (dare I say) loved. So many jobs, even if they are not manufacturing, have a production line mentality. The goal is to squeeze from you, the worker, as much time and energy (which equals money) as possible. But remember how it felt playing on that sports team at school? Remember the joy of going to band or play practice? Remember how you felt about your friends when you were younger? I think we're really missing that as adults. 

 

Perhaps the biggest problem of all is being repetitive....the very word causes me to roll my eyes. I don't know your exact job, but I'll bet most of you have been pigeon-holed into a role. You know that's the case when you hear yourself say things like "That's not really my area." or "You'd have to go through my boss to get that approved." Likely you do the same basic work day in and day out. Even, in some cases, the faces or places may change, but the work is pretty much the same. Haven't you ever gone out on a beautiful spring day when the sun is high and a cool breeze is blowing in your face and thought "I sure wish I was working with that landscaping crew over there?" Or maybe if you're the landscaping crew on a blistering hot day you think "It'd sure be nice to sit in front of a computer in an air conditioned officed today." I think there are hundreds of jobs that I'd love to do....for a time. But I know that I get bored doing the same thing day in and day out. I don't know that there is any easy answer for people who don't like they're job. But I'd guess that most of us, if given the opportunity, would love to work; we just want work that is satisfying. We want work that involves:  

• A combination of physical and mental labor.
• A varied work environment.
• Working in community with others (at least from time to time).
• Really believing in what we do.

Maybe it's just me.  But if I were a teenager contemplating my future, I'd want to review this list. 

So what about those people who don't want to work?  Let's make the distinction between those who can't and those who won't.  Those who won't are lazy.  It's really that simple.  They somehow anticipate that we, the taxpayer, should feed them.  If you'll allow me to paraphrase the Bible: if a man 
won't work, he shouldn't eat.  Yes, it really is that simple.
I can't sum it up any better than the wisest man to ever live.  "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"  

And without Him, who would want to?

Boredom

I have a theory; I think we're all bored.  Now, I know, you've got your Itouch out and you're checking out the latest plot line of Twilight while listening to your favorite Barry Manilow song with one hand while you drive your blue tooth enabled hybrid to hang out wherever it is you hang out.  So how could you possibly be bored?  Right?

I think that our technologically advanced society is, at its heart, bored.  I can see it in the average cubicle dweller.  We sit at our computers....all day long.  Screen after screen of reports, spreadsheets, analysis, etc. is enough to drive any man crazy.  So what do we do?  Listen to the Ipod and sneak a peek at Facebook to see who sent the latest friend request.  We instant message the guy two cubes down from us.  Or, some who border on being Amish, actually walk to a cube near them and talk (does that still happen?) to each other.  Crazy concept I know.

I think it's really because we're bored.  Here's how the theory goes:  God created us to work the land.  That was His original design.  This gave Adam the chance to really pour himself into something.  Even after the fall, Adam and Eve's purpose didn't change much.  It became harder, but it didn't really change.  So they're pouring themselves into their own lives: Adam tends the land trying to provide food.  Eve is working along side Adam and caring for the children as they come.  They don't really have a lot of other distractions.  Their not worried, you see, about who danced the tango last night or who was ripped to shreds for their singing abilities.  They worried about themselves and they created a life of beauty.  That's the key.  They created something together.  It was their focus.

It seems to me that we've lost focus.  We have so many plates spinning in the air, but with no real purpose.  Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone in the world is bored at every moment.  No, I'm talking about American society in general. 

George Orwell said "War is a way of shattering to pieces... materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and... too intelligent."  Although I cannot speak to what he was thinking, the quote seems to indicate that the more comfortable a race is, the more intelligent it becomes.  I'm not so sure that's played itself out.  Though we've come into a place as a nation where we are most comfortable, I don't see vast intelligence breaking forth.  Instead, I see games.  I see things to keep us occupied.  Instead of  groundbreaking intelligence, I see a people who identify themselves with their occupation or hobby and pour themselves into it...because they have nothing else to pour themselves into.  

The point is not that any pursuit of pleasure is bad; the point is that no matter what activities we engage in we should get back to a mindset where we pour ourselves into family and each other.  The framework of our pursuits should fit around those closest to us.  I think that's what God intended.  What do you think?