More than a few times in my life I have had jobs I have really not liked. During those seasons, I never really wanted to talk about my work; I just didn’t want to be defined by something I hated. However, I was still very interested in talking about what others did for a living, especially people who said they liked their job.
The more disconnect I felt about my “calling” to something better, the bigger the grudge I felt about my bad jobs. “I’m better than this,” I’d tell myself. And if I had to share with someone what I did 40 hours a week (you know how some people just can’t let things go), I would always end with, “At least it pays the bills.”
After a few years of chasing the calling I never had, I ended up working at the same company where I once had a job I didn’t like. I’m still there now, in fact. Even though I tell myself that the company is different, and I have a better role now, the real reason I now like my job is because I see work differently. Going to work each day gives me a sense of God’s daily provision; it makes me more aware of the gifts he’s given me to allow me to be productive; I recognize ways to be creative and am regularly in situations where I have to choose to do what’s right. Being a person who does work allows me to bear God’s image in a way I couldn’t otherwise.
Wendell Berry has a similarly high view of work in his essay, “The Body and the Earth.”
I know work can be hard, and many workplaces are less than ideal. But having a sense of my high calling to work certainly does help when I find myself in tough situations on the job.
Speaking of our high calling, this is the last day of the High Calling Blog Tour. I hope you have had a chance to visit thehighcalling.org, signed up for membership on the website, or at least considered what it means to be living out your high calling.
By the way, I wanted to highlight two more articles I found over on The High Calling website. In “Because I’m Good at It”, John Poch explores the ideas of practice and discipline in all of our areas of calling. Just because we’re good at what we do doesn’t mean we can’t get better by working at our work. Also, Camy Tang’s “Even Pit Bulls Make Mistakes” talks about having integrity when we mess up. This article really hit home for me and my perfectionistic tendencies.
And don’t forget to stop by and visit some of the other tour guides if you want to learn more about The High Calling. (Their reviews have been much better and more thorough than mine; you’ll learn a lot from them!)
Gordon Atkinson
L. L. Barkat
Gina Conroy
Craver VII
CREEations
Milton Brasher-Cunningham
Mary DeMuth
Karl Edwards
Emdashery
Every Square Inch
Amy Goodyear
Marcus Goodyear
Al Hsu
Jennwith2ns
Chalres Foster Johnson
Mike McLoughlin
Eve Nielsen
Naked Pastor
Ramblin Dan
Stacy
Camy Tang
* Wendell Berry essay, “The Body and the Earth” published in Culture and Agriculture: The Unsettling of America.
* More of my work is available at Barclay Press’ A Daily Journal. Here is today’s entry.
Jenn — You’re right about the fine line between seeking to be connected with other people and actually abusing those connections. I struggle with where that line is, at times. I usually try to think of people who are really good at navigating that line and follow their example!
LL — Regarding community, I think actually making an effort to eat with other people is one of the biggest ways I can avoid isolation. My problem is that I really like being alone at times. This is not always bad, but sometimes it takes more effort to put myself out there.
Amy — Great to have you visit here as well! I think you’re right about having different calls at different times in life. I think about the things I was passionate about when I was younger. I have decided to quit questioning the validity of those callings from a position of maturity. Instead, I just have to be content with following a different call now.
Ted — Yes, my perspective and expectations, shaped by God’s word, make a huge difference in my overall contentment. Work is one of the biggest examples of that.
LL — I think my work builds connections in a number of ways. For one, I am constantly forced to cooperate with others on the job. I also have a connection to everyone else who does work. Also, every time I pay bills or buy groceries, I am cognizant of God’s continued sustenance of my through my ability to work. (As a person who has had health problems and not been able to work for a period of time, I actually do appreciate my sheer physical ability to go to work much more than I used to.) I also have a connection to all of humanity in that work will be difficult at times. And I am aware of the rhythms of work and rest that God implemented precisely because I get up and go five days a week, work at home on Saturdays, and try to rest on Sundays. I think there must be some work that doesn’t connect us in this way. Or at least some workers who don’t make the connections. I’m not sure exactly. Good questions!
Like Ted, I liked the description of the transformation of your perspective on work. And the Berry quote was tremendous. I resonated with the same thing LL mentioned. It seems like connexions can always happen, especially if we’re conscious of them. (Although perhaps consciousness sometimes may lead to messed up motivations and “using” people. I suppose it depends on context . . . )
Thanks so visiting my blog and for the link. Thanks for your thoughts on how our attitude can change our outlook on our jobs. If I look at the money struggles and lonely moments of work-at-home motherhood, it can sometimes seem depressing. But if I focus on giving my children a strong foundation everyday, I feel my calling renewed. I am called to this at this point in my life – in the future, my call may be different. But I pray I will be open to that call when it comes.
Also, I read your TDJ and felt a pang… I wish you could eat with me! Communities are set up for isolation… I wonder how you will overcome that.
I love that Berry thought, that work is not just support but the enactment of connections. In what way, if any, do you see your current work as an enactment of connections? I wonder if this could be said of all work, depending on one’s perspective?
Charity, I like the way you describe how you see your work now, though it’s the same job.
I can largely id there. Thanks for sharing that.