Wednesday, September 23

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy and it shall go well with you.
—Psalm 128:2

We sometimes think that it would be absolutely wonderful if we had nothing to do at all. To laze around like a king snake full from too much lunch seems a welcome alternative to the steady rhythm of work. 

Instead of laboring on projects with short deadlines, or putting up with a supervisor looking over our shoulder, or going to meaningless meetings, or dealing with dissatisfied customers, we would rather loll around on some nice, private beach. It seems that life ought to be more carefree and filled with lazy delights rather than demand of us work that we would prefer not
to do.

There's no doubt that if we were able to relax with a margarita on the beach for hours on end, we would enjoy ourselves. But if we were to maintain our languor for weeks at a time, that same happiness would gradually slip through our fingers. Our well-being and interior fulfillment depend on the way we live out our humanity in the work and labor that we do. It's important to be. It's also important to do.

Our souls were created to bring ingenuity and value to the world, and we achieve this through our activities, through the energy that we expend, through the way we empty our soul onto the world. The world anxiously awaits that ingenious and creative unfolding of our labor.

We have a contribution to make, and when we make it, we will be surprised not only at our own happiness. We will be astonished at how well things go for our soul.

Gracious God, when work seems unyielding or meaningless, let me offer it as a gift to the waiting world.