In
Father Fiction, the chapter on work ethic has a couple of excellent points that are worth remembering. And, since I'm severely struggling with work this week (with my hours and scheduling: Monday there was a sick Isa, Tuesday was a snow day, I worked Tuesday night and Wednesday, and today, my sitter has pink eye so I have Teo home with me.) So, here
ya we go...in a nice bulleted fashion.
- "It isn't about what you don't get done; it about what you do get done."
Ahhh, so my to do list of incomplete items is okay? That the world won't end when I am required to be a mom first? That I can continue next week without feeling like I have failed this week?
Maybe this isn't just about work, but applies to life as a whole. When I die (or when you die) will the memorial and the pastor talk endlessly about my life shortcomings. Could you imagine the memorial service: "We are here to mourn the death, and the life, of Carla Sue. She didn't ever sky dive or bungee jump or white water raft, well, she did white water raft when she was like 12 years old, but not after that. She never climbed Mt. Everest, or any other mountain for that matter. She traveled the nation as a kid, but after becoming an adult and paying her own bills, she became fairy localized." And so forth and so on.
This one point, says so much to me and is something that I need to remain focused on.
- "Work isn't punishment; it's reward."
Ooooohhhh. I grew up listening to my mom and dad and stepdad complain about their jobs. They all worked in jobs that they had to "settle" for due to their circumstances, but when push came to shove, they were content and happy to have jobs, to be able to work, to have the strength and the health. And now, that I'm an adult, I have had to learned similar lessons. However, I have been extra blessed to be able to attend college and obtain a degree to allow me to work in an area that I love, and I have been fortunate enough to land in a job (now) that I am in love with.
But, it's so much more than that. Working is so much more than being able to do it, being capable and healthy. And it leads into the next point:
- "Work exists for a lot of reasons. God worked. he created the earth and the cosmos. We work to participate in the God life, to imitate God. That's also why we take a Sabbath. Work is one of the ways we engage in life, one of the ways we participate. It's important. The Bible says that whatever we do, whatever work we do, we do it unto the Lord, to please Him."
Anything I do, if I do it for selfish reasons,will be wrong. I must work to be selfless. Didja get that? If you work to get recognition or praise, you will be unhappy. The only way to work and be truely happy, is to work for God.
- "It taught me to take great pride in what I do, to offer people more than what they expect, to do work as unto the Lord."
So, is it better to do 50 million things and do them, pardon my language, half-assed, or to do 50 things and do them to the best of your ability and beyond, to go the extra mile to take care of the people you work with and work for. If you are cutting grass and they ask you to just cut the grass, but you notice that a bush really needs trimming and is over running the sidewalk, take a few moments to cut it. Or if you are waiting tables, and the people you are serving are cranky and all you want to do is snap on them, take a few deep breaths and instead yelling, go and be the best damn waiter that you can be. Or, if you are a banker or a lawyer or a warehouse worker or a seamstress or a cashier or a public servant, be sure to smile and do your job the best you can for the people that you encounter. No matter what you do, do it 200% and do it as if you are working for God, not for mankind.
Period. How can you argue against that?
[Side note: If you need to go through and re-read it, go ahead. But, there is not one mention in this entire post about money. Yes, this is a blog post about work and there is nothing about money. You can figure out the importance of that yourself.]
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