Wisdom nuggets: "To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labour, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy."
If you're into bumper-sticker philosophy, you've probably seen the
axiom, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." For a vast portion of the
workforce, that's the best reason they can muster for going to the job
each day. According to one poll, only 43 percent of American office
workers are satisfied with their jobs. In Japan, the figure dips to 17
percent. In the first century, Christian proletariats had even less reason to
be enthusiastic about their work. But Paul gave them a way to grasp a
glimpse of glory amid the grind. He wanted them to "adorn the doctrine
of God," that is, to show the beauty of their faith in God by how
they work.
The truth is nothing endears your boss
like your attitude to your work. Chances are you may never find the
courage to ever talk to your boss about progress but you have a great
opportunity to communicate same by your work ethics.
"Subordinates must always
obey their bosses and do their best to please them. They must not talk
back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and
good. Then they will make the teaching about the Almighty attractive
in every way."
We saw this when Joseph saved the economy of Egypt and fed the whole
world in the famine. Pharaoh, his boss, was so impressed that he asked
"who is your father? "Your boss will only be interested in your father
when your attitude to work speaks well of him. It was Mother
Teresa who said "There is always the danger that we may just do the work
for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and
the devotion come in - that we do it to the Most High and that's why
we try to do it as beautifully as possible."
In September 5, 1994, I read this beautiful passage and saved it ever since. It read: A
significant and often overlooked way that we serve Our Maker is in our
everyday tasks. Martin Luther understood this when he wrote, "The maid
who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk
who prays - not because she may sing a hymn as she sweeps but
because God loves clean floors. The shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making
good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.
If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.
- Bill Gates
