FAITH@WORK > WEEK 1

Doing a Good Job

We don't have to be in a particularly noble job for it to have value. God values our work, and simply doing a competent, intentional, good job is serving both God and others.  God asked us to be caretakers of the earth through our work. This is the starting point for embracing a spirituality of work.
The Gospel story this week is of the two sons who are asked by their father to work in the vineyard (one refuses but then goes, the other agrees and doesn't). Do we competently carry out the work we have committed to doing?

Work as Worship

This video offers a good starting point to understanding the connection between our faith and our work:

M.L.K. on Work

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke many times about the dignity and value of all work, and how we are all called to do our work well.  He was of course also a big part of the labor movement, fighting for workers' rights and dignity (more on that next week).  Here are some of his words on work:
No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
What I’m saying to you this morning, my friends, even if it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures; sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry; (Go ahead) sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”
Hear a recording of this speech on the right >

Competence in our Work

We all have the duty to do our work well. If we wish to realize ourselves properly, we may not avoid our duty or perform our work in a mediocre way, without interest, just to get it over with.
St. John Paul II
Professional competence, the key ingredient to successful work, is not divorced in any way from spirituality. Of course, professional competence must be surrounded by virtues: patience, compassion, wisdom, and even ambition combined with humility. But we can say loud and clear: Work done with competence and virtue is spiritual work....

So while people don't have to be continually conscious of the spiritual dimension of their work, a spiritual person has to do a good job. Which is why, reportedly, St. Augustine bought his sandals from a non-Christian. "I do a lot of walking and need good sandals," he replied when confronted by a fellow Christian. A Christian business person does not manufacture Christian sandals. A genuinely Christian business person makes good sandals.
William Droel
Spirituality of Work small group process
Besides making a living, having a career, or answering a vocation, some people find meaning in doing a good, conscientious job or providing high-quality goods or services to others. Above and beyond (and sometimes despite) their pay, these people really care about the results and effect of their work. They do good work not because someone is watching, not to keep their jobs or get a raise, not even because they feel especially called to the particular work they are doing. To them, it is a matter of pride--not the "I'm better than you are" kind of pride, but the pride that God must take in creation itself.
Gregory F.A. Pierce
Spirituality@Work

So God Made a Farmer

This Superbowl commercial drew an overwhelming response, by making a connection between faith and the work of farmers.  It is based on a 1987 speech by Paul Harvey.

You Had One Job

On a lighter note, we have all experienced people who have not been the most competent in their work, and know how frustrating that can be. 

Here are some internet memes that point out when folks are not giving their best at work. Don't be that person!

Question of the Week

What difference does it make to me when I consider that God cares about my work? What step can I take this week in response?
Photo of sandals above by Michael Saechang, Creative Commons.

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