Prayer, Purpose and Getting Paid: Reflections on Work (3)

Work.  Why do we do it?  An obvious reason is to survive.  The money we make working pays for our food, clothing, and shelter.  There may be other things we want in life that we work for too but maybe we will get more into that next week when I write about the "getting paid" part of work.

I am wondering about the purpose of our work.  Does our work need to have a purpose beyond the pay cheque?  For me it does.  I have a deep desire for meaning in my life... including how I spend my working hours.

So, what is the purpose of work?  There are lots of different perspectives on this.  What I am thinking about tonight is the connection between the Great Commandments and work.

8 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31

If these are the greatest commandments, then it makes sense to me that we need to be obeying them 24/7.  This includes our 9 to 5 (or whatever we work).  How do we do it? What I am really asking is how does love fit into my/your work?

Be present in our work to the task at hand as well as to God with us.  God is near, wherever we are, and we can love Him by serving Him through what we do.  For me in my current work, I have the opportunity to do a lot of little tasks that could be considered good deeds - listening, gathering and giving out donations, moving furniture, etc - but they could be done with a grouchy attitude that brings no honour to God or with kindness and gratitude that reflects His goodness that I am a partaker of.  I love God by receiving His love and letting it form and shape both my perspective and my actions.   I love God by allowing His love to flow through me and by abiding in Him (John 15) throughout my day.  I love others by giving the best of myself to them within the limits of the particular situation.  I love my neighbour (read co-worker, client, customer) by doing as Jesus says, "treat others the same way you want them to treat you" (Luke 6:31).

I feel like I've said enough.... now I need to ask myself some questions. What does this mean for my particular work context?  If the purpose of working is to love God and others, how can I live that out in my job? 

Praying that God will empower you with His love to love Him and others in your work.

Tracy