This is an introduction to further writings on vocation, which is discovering what Gods wants us to do while looking for God in all we do—work, rest, and life; it is spiritual[1]. Developing vocation is important because it is part of the pursuit of happiness. Here I will focus on work.
Working hard is expected if one hopes to be successful. We are expected to work hard for our employer or in our businesses.
Somewhere along the line, duty and worth became equated to long days and hours. Feeling or, forbid, voicing dissatisfaction with work became taboo. However, while it is important, we should want more from our careers, businesses, and jobs than simply to work hard.
At the same time we are called to help and love our neighbor. We spend most of our waking hours at work. It stands to reason that our work is a vehicle to do the most good and show the most love.
Vocation…
Every single job has worth because every single job has in it an element of help and love of fellow citizens. Whether you dig ditches or are a CEO of a Fortune-500 company your work adds to society in some way. The extent to which this is true depends on you. All honest work has value.
Certainly, I still need more practice at this. My pursuit of vocation is constantly interrupted with fits of selfishness, anger, impatience, and so on. Still, I rise every morning expecting to work hard and get better at my vocation.
P.S. How does your work communicate love for your neighbor? Do you look for God in what you do?
[1] Various places define vocation in terms of occupation, purpose, and calling—see for example dictionary.com and Webster. The use here is a compilation and definition that is useful to me.
Note: This post was co published on my Linkedin page.