Fruitless Endeavors

I tend to err on the side of optimism, believing wholeheartedly that I can make a difference in this world through my hard work. Although I believe this, I’m also constantly reminded that my best intentions can be thwarted by my own mistakes, the failures or indifference of others I work with, economic factors, and/or other environmental issues, like natural disasters, pandemics, and social unrest.

This may seem unfair, but it’s the nature of a fallen world. At one time, we were able to experience work at its fullest. Before the fall, the calling given by God allowed us to grow and prosper within a perfect world. After the fall, “thorns and thistles,” “labor and toil” became intricate parts of our work lives. Work became what we know it to be today

All Work is Divine

Many people think of work as a “necessary evil.” It’s a means to an end, a way to survive, a mode to make money, put food on the table, or buy goods for our family. In this frame of mind, work becomes drudgery. Simply a necessary condition to get through this life. 

When we think of work this way, we take away its intrinsic dignity, creativity, and divinity. We carve it down to just a 9-5 slog. 

But, when we realize all work, as it was created, is (note I did not say, “can be”) divine. All work, whether it’s cleaning floors, building a wall, transacting a business deal, or conducting brain surgery is divine, regardless of how secular it appears.

In the Beginning Was Work

If you interviewed any of my employees or colleagues, they would tell you that I love work. I love the nature or it, the sense of it, the feel of it.  I love sinking my teeth into something hard and then creatively devising a plan that problem-solves the challenge and creates something better. A real […]