Not long ago, I attended a day-long meeting with a group of about 20 people . All of us are "independent contractors" and not directly employed by the company, but our association with the company is "captive", meaning that we have no associations with other companies. I happened to sit near a couple of the more "seasoned" associates whose tenure was in the 35 year range.
It seemed that at every break, and at times during the meeting, they would complain about the company. "This company isn't what it used to be!" "This new system doesn't work." "They expect too much!" "If they think I'm doing that, they're crazy." One of them is literally counting the days until he retires in about 3 years. How sad...
What is amazing to me is that all the good the company has done for these men and their families seems to have been forgotten. Their work has done far more than provide for the basic necessities of life, as these men enjoy a lifestyle they would not otherwise have attained. They have no enjoyment in their work, no passion for it, and little appreciation of it. I suppose that this kind of attitude toward work is not uncommon in the work place, but I believe it is far from the Biblical view of work. To these men, "work is a four letter word". It is to God as well, and that word is "good'.
There are many who believe that work is a product of the fall of man. In reality, God assigned the privilege of work to man before the fall (Gen. 2:15). Since the God who created everything and pronounced it "good", also gave man work to do, work must also be good. The primary reason work can be so hard for us is a result of the fall - (Gen.3:17-19). It is clear from scripture that work is profitable, good, and to be pursued. (Proverbs 14:23; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 28:19). In the book of Genesis, we read "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." Man is made in the image of God. If God works, man works.
Our view of work has been seriously corrupted by the culture. God's perspective on work is that it is a mandate. The culture's perspective is that work is a curse. God's perspective is that work is to provide for family needs. The culture's perspective is that it is to have more (more "stuff"). God's perspective is that work is to be done for the glory of God. The culture's perspective is that work is done to be more (Recognition). God's perspective is that work is to provide for the needy. The culture's perspective is to influence more (Power). God's perspective is that work is so that we can minister to others. The culture's perspective is that work makes us feel secure and significant.
In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he wrote "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."(1 cor.10:31). In his letter to the Colossians, we find this instruction: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." (Col. 3:23) Regardless of who signs the paycheck, It is clear that the believer is called to work as if working for the Lord, and that our work is to be done for the glory of God.
As believers, we must be very careful that our attitudes toward work are not corrupted by the culture. Whatever He has called us to do, whether inside the home or out in the work place, we are challenged to view it from a Godly perspective.
May it be so...
John
Soli Deo Gloria
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Not knowing the people's situation at work or their actual conversations with you, I can say that I can empathize with what they might have been feeling about their jobs. It might not be so much that they dislike the kind of work they are doing as much as how they are being made to do it. I loved all 35 years of my teaching career but towards the end we were required by the administration to begin keeping huge (4 inch thick!) binders of EVERYTHING we did in the class room. It was extremely time consuming and used up tons of paper. Finally, on the day I retired, I handed my binders (one for each class) to the administrator in charge of this. He laughed and said, "Throw them away. We really don't have any use for these!" I had complained about doing a seemingly worthless task that took valuable time and resources away from my class preparation. I did the work that had been expected of me but was not happy in doing so. And this example is only one of several that had begun to make my career very unpleasant at the end. I truly disliked what the job was becoming but still LOVED being in the classroom with the kids. God's gift to me of my career was being trampled on by the world and that was not easy to swallow.
ReplyDeleteSo my point is, what you might have been hearing were feeling of a loss of sense of worth for the work that God had given them caused by employers' policies that changed what these people had originally loved doing. I agree that the Biblical view of work is that it is for our benefit and we should be thankful for what we have but being human it is not always easy to be joyful when what we love is demeaned and taken from us. These people sound beaten down by the world and certainly would benefit by having a Godly perspective of what really matters.