Obviously, some "work" is just boring, undignified or
dangerous, and is to be avoided at all costs. In my
personal dictionary, however, I don't really count that as
"work." Drudgery is just drudgery and while we all have to
do some things we dislike, it's mainly to be avoided. In a
world of freedom and infinite opportunity, why spend your
life on petty, difficult tasks?
True work, on the other hand, is one of life's great
privileges. I've often written that work is our chance to
partner with God and complete the process of creation.
According to the ancient story, God created the world in
six days (even He needed rest on the seventh day), but
apparently He didn't finish all the details.
He left a few things for us to work out, and I count that a
great honor.
Obviously, IMPACT readers belong to a myriad of
religions, and many of you opt for no religious faith, and
that's fine. Please substitute whatever terminology you
prefer, but it does seem the laws of nature are there for
us to discover and use. I like to think each of us will use
our time and resources to build something worthy of
ourselves!
Every day, through our work, we get to invent and build and
combine resources around us to create a world that our
grandparents could not imagine.
Through "work" the Panama Canal was built. Through "work"
the Mona Lisa was created. Through "work" Beethoven created
beauty and humans visited the moon! Through "work" we have
the internet, fine cigars and hot fudge sundaes! Because
people went to work, we have modern medicine, and I count
these as good things!
There is tremendous dignity in human effort.
I'll always remember my grandfather saying that when he was
a boy, it was rare to eat anything grown more than twenty
miles from where he lived. He recalled the joy of getting a
single orange as a Christmas
present! The next time you visit a grocery store, think
about that. As you look at the aisles with food from around
the world, note that it's all available because of human
effort, creativity, and engineering.
I'm not sure how many countries have a Labor Day
celebration, but I think they all should. Work is an
amazing thing. It's what makes us human, allows us to
create our world, and modify it to suit our preferences.
Do we sometimes mess up? Of course we do! Do we sometimes
build or do things that have unintended consequences? Well,
sure! Sometimes human beings work for evil or unfortunate
ends, and that's tragic, but it doesn't change the
fundamental truth. Work is the cost of freedom and dignity.
Most Americans will spend this holiday weekend escaping
from work. They'll play and laugh, relax with friends, do
almost anything except "work." But I hope you'll also take
a moment over the weekend to give thanks for the work you
do. Your work makes a contribution to this small planet. In
some small way, each of us contributes our energy, our
talent and our skill to making life better, and I suspect
that's how God intended it.
Here's to the privilege and dignity of honest, hard work!
dangerous, and is to be avoided at all costs. In my
personal dictionary, however, I don't really count that as
"work." Drudgery is just drudgery and while we all have to
do some things we dislike, it's mainly to be avoided. In a
world of freedom and infinite opportunity, why spend your
life on petty, difficult tasks?
True work, on the other hand, is one of life's great
privileges. I've often written that work is our chance to
partner with God and complete the process of creation.
According to the ancient story, God created the world in
six days (even He needed rest on the seventh day), but
apparently He didn't finish all the details.
He left a few things for us to work out, and I count that a
great honor.
Obviously, IMPACT readers belong to a myriad of
religions, and many of you opt for no religious faith, and
that's fine. Please substitute whatever terminology you
prefer, but it does seem the laws of nature are there for
us to discover and use. I like to think each of us will use
our time and resources to build something worthy of
ourselves!
Every day, through our work, we get to invent and build and
combine resources around us to create a world that our
grandparents could not imagine.
Through "work" the Panama Canal was built. Through "work"
the Mona Lisa was created. Through "work" Beethoven created
beauty and humans visited the moon! Through "work" we have
the internet, fine cigars and hot fudge sundaes! Because
people went to work, we have modern medicine, and I count
these as good things!
There is tremendous dignity in human effort.
I'll always remember my grandfather saying that when he was
a boy, it was rare to eat anything grown more than twenty
miles from where he lived. He recalled the joy of getting a
single orange as a Christmas
present! The next time you visit a grocery store, think
about that. As you look at the aisles with food from around
the world, note that it's all available because of human
effort, creativity, and engineering.
I'm not sure how many countries have a Labor Day
celebration, but I think they all should. Work is an
amazing thing. It's what makes us human, allows us to
create our world, and modify it to suit our preferences.
Do we sometimes mess up? Of course we do! Do we sometimes
build or do things that have unintended consequences? Well,
sure! Sometimes human beings work for evil or unfortunate
ends, and that's tragic, but it doesn't change the
fundamental truth. Work is the cost of freedom and dignity.
Most Americans will spend this holiday weekend escaping
from work. They'll play and laugh, relax with friends, do
almost anything except "work." But I hope you'll also take
a moment over the weekend to give thanks for the work you
do. Your work makes a contribution to this small planet. In
some small way, each of us contributes our energy, our
talent and our skill to making life better, and I suspect
that's how God intended it.
Here's to the privilege and dignity of honest, hard work!
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