The importance of a job

By Ellen Shuck

What does your job mean to you? Is it something you do merely to earn a living? Does your job bring a sense of fulfillment to you, or do you enjoy the praise you receive from other people, the boss or your co-worker?

We all have our reasons for going to work every day -- for getting up early in the morning or staying up late at night. But we possibly dislike the constant routine of our work, the lack of appreciation, we believe we receive. We may not like the everyday feeling of sweat on our brow and dirty clothes.

Positive perspectives we may have towards going to our work can be that it gives us energy. We feel a sense of fulfillment, satisfaction and exuberance at a job that we've done well.

I recently attended a retirement ceremony and reception for a member of the military. The middle-aged man, Jamie, received numerous accolades that I feel were well deserved. Nevertheless he appeared modest and displayed a humble demeanor. Jamie had experienced many traumatic happenings during his years of service and it had taken its toll on his body and his view on life.

As a friend of Jamie's, and I, discussed his Army career, we remembered the speeches that were given and the awards that Jamie had earned. He enjoyed a wonderful turn-out of people. As his friend and I stood talking; we remarked that it really didn't matter, how many people attended his retirement ceremony. What actually mattered was whether or not Jamie felt he had performed well and given his job all he could. We felt he had, for sure. Jamie's performance of duty was extremely important to him. He didn't lay his life on the line as he had, for praise. No he did it for his devotion to doing a good job in whatever he undertook.

Among others, Jamie also received an award for his wonderful ability and desire to lead and help in Boy Scouts. He liked working with the boys. Along with his other contributions, Jamie was also a great husband and father to four children.

The point of the story is not to brag about a particular soldier, I know, but to reveal the real importance of any job. The job is not nearly as important as how important it is to you. That importance to you determines the love with which you do the job. Praise, material compensation, or the need to earn a living cannot exceed that reason for "a job well done."

Various Bible Scriptures point the way to doing our best in whatever we do. They tell us to use all our God-given talents, skills and abilities to do our best. Colossians 3:23-24 tells people, "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."

We are not to try to impress others with what we do, or present a shabby job. What matters is that we do the best we can and let our conscience be the judge. We can tell by "how we feel inside." However, do we begin our undertaking by ourselves? No, I think not. Do we wait until we are exhausted to call on God to help us or ask His advice on what we should be doing and how to accomplish it? We may wait until we're ill or incapacitated to seek help? No again. We allow God to enter into our plans from the very beginning of our endeavors. Before we can do our best, we need God's help. We cannot do it on our own. Proverbs 16:3 says,"Work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." How important the job is to us is what counts.