4:292 – Meaningful Work

#faithbites #faithjourney meaningful

Setting

Last night, I posted on Facebook about the automation of jobs like checkout and bagging at a grocery store. This was a reply to someone who said we shouldn’t use automated checkouts because they take away jobs. My poorly written post was saying that we should embrace automation. If your job can be replaced by automation it should and then you would be freed for more meaningful work.

My friends, as they always do, corrected me. Who am I to say what is meaningful? Where do I get off by saying a job that I wouldn’t want isn’t meaningful. I was wrong. Maybe fulfilling would have been a better choice, but that’s fraught with the same problems. Meaningful work is in the eye of the beholder.

God has created us special for the work he wants us to do. We just need to search him out and find out what we should be doing. And yes, I struggle with this daily.

Today’s Questions: What is meaningful work to you? How do you know if what you are doing is what you are supposed to be doing?

Scripture

• Genesis 2:15 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
• Deuteronomy 24:14 – Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
• Ecclesiastes 3:22 – So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

Reflection

The Bible tells us work is God. God gave Adam and eve jobs to do. He wanted them to work the land and take care of the animals. This is meaningful work.

We see in Deuteronomy, that we should respect workers regardless of their wealth or if they are one of us or from somewhere else. This passage goes deep into the meaning of work, nationalism, immigration, and more. Let us not belittle their work or take advantage of them.

Finally, and this is what my friends were trying to bring home, people enjoy different types of work. For someone, checking people out is meaningful and fulfilling. They get enjoyment and a sense of purpose from that work. We are not to judge if it is meaningful or necessary.

As we close, I originally made that roost on Facebook to talk about automation and universal basic income. Through my friends, I found I was misguided and need to choose my words better. Let’s not judge the work others do as God created each person uniquely for a special meaningful purpose.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, today we pray for compassion and care when we choose our words. Help us not to be elitist or judgemental of anyone’s work choices. We pray that you make us communicators, listeners, and doers. Help us to get our points across without degrading others.

Lord, we also pray that our work, whatever it is, is meaningful to you. We know that meaningfulness isn’t about the money or the perceived impact. It is about serving you and how our work can help spread your love., We ask you to help us be content in our work and do it to the best of our abilities. In your name, we pray, Amen.