Sunday, September 01, 2019
Sunday Reflection: Labor and Faith
The happiest people I know are those who have managed to merge their deepest beliefs with their work. Many of the unhappy people I know are those whose deepest beliefs are not lived out through their work. The most unhappy are those who have to do things at work that they do not believe in.
What we do with our days matters in many ways: it sustains us financially, it defines us to the world (think how often people ask "what do you do?"), and it gives us something to do each work day. But none of those elements means that our work necessarily fits in with what our spirit cries out for. We have to intentionally choose that, chase it down, take risks, and often make sacrifices for it. It may not be the best-paying route, or the job people expect you to take. Luck matters, too, of course, and the resources we start out with-- but many people with great resources fail to seek out work that deeply fulfills them.
I've told this story before, but it really speaks to me:
When I was in my early 20's, wandering in the wilderness without much of a sense of what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be, I popped up to a shopping mall just outside of Detroit. There, in the parking lot of Eastland, I came across a guy crouched down next to a nice car, looking at the front quarter panel. It seemed kind of fishy, so I walked closer. The man looked up and while touching the metal of that panel said "I made that."
That's vocation-- to come across something you built, that someone else enjoys, and feel the pride I saw in this guy. I wanted that in my own life. I knew, even then, that it might not come with a lot of money, and I was ok with that. I still am.
Sometimes I wish I could find that guy again, and thank him. He led me to a good place.
