Why Work and Our Spiritual Life Don't Seem to Mix Well Sometimes, Part II
We were talking about keeping God in the workday - somehow, some way.
But sometimes it can feel like there's some fundamental difference between our work and our spiritual life. The spiritual life seems "up there"; work's immediate, right here. What's right here, what's staring us in the face gets our attention. The spiritual life isn't pressing in on us. Our work is. "I've got work to do, God. No offense, but I've gotta go now."
It's almost like you're in one mode at work, and another in the spiritual life.
I remember reading a remark by someone talking about how they liked to read certain prayers while they were sitting in their "easy chair." I guess you can do that. But the spiritual life isn't just some "easy" thing we do from time to time - you know, instead of a cocktail we read some Scripture or some spiritual writing.
In fact, the spiritual life has a lot in common with our work life. Let's take a quick look at this.
A business must grow or it will die. That's where all the "push" comes from to grow the business. It's not just greed (although that can play a part). It's in the nature of a business that if it's not growing, it's dying. Good businessmen know this.
The same is true for our spiritual lives. St Augustine says, “We cannot prevent ourselves from going backwards, except by forcing ourselves forward. The moment that we desist from our efforts, we fall back. Not to advance is to recede. Hence, if we do not wish to go backwards, we must push on without ever giving ourselves a moment of repose.”
See the similarity? In fact the efforts of our workday aren't any different from the efforts in our spiritual life. They have the same objective: growth. So our attitude to our work and our attitude to our spiritual life are the same. They match.
Our challenge is to make an effort, to struggle at work and in our spiritual life. Nothing good comes easy, right?
Of course, we Catholic men know very well that the spiritual life can't take a back seat to work. We know we've got to commit the time and energy to our spiritual life. It's not something optional. You've just got to make that commitment.
And now we see that you can use the same skills, the same motivation, the same drive in both work and the spiritual life. Grow or die.
We're making progress, guys. We've seen how we can't put God in a box. We know He's right here, right now, even while we're busy ignoring Him at work.
He doesn't make demands. He loves us. He'd appreciate a simple acknowledgment from time to time...maybe even an "I love you, God."
We figured out there's no "up there" for the spiritual life. It's in your face every day, no less than your work. And it's not an "easy chair" thing. It's a struggle.
Now what happens when the bullets really start to fly...when all hell breaks loose? Work gets like that sometimes, doesn't it. Work can fee like war...
But sometimes it can feel like there's some fundamental difference between our work and our spiritual life. The spiritual life seems "up there"; work's immediate, right here. What's right here, what's staring us in the face gets our attention. The spiritual life isn't pressing in on us. Our work is. "I've got work to do, God. No offense, but I've gotta go now."
It's almost like you're in one mode at work, and another in the spiritual life.
I remember reading a remark by someone talking about how they liked to read certain prayers while they were sitting in their "easy chair." I guess you can do that. But the spiritual life isn't just some "easy" thing we do from time to time - you know, instead of a cocktail we read some Scripture or some spiritual writing.
In fact, the spiritual life has a lot in common with our work life. Let's take a quick look at this.
A business must grow or it will die. That's where all the "push" comes from to grow the business. It's not just greed (although that can play a part). It's in the nature of a business that if it's not growing, it's dying. Good businessmen know this.
The same is true for our spiritual lives. St Augustine says, “We cannot prevent ourselves from going backwards, except by forcing ourselves forward. The moment that we desist from our efforts, we fall back. Not to advance is to recede. Hence, if we do not wish to go backwards, we must push on without ever giving ourselves a moment of repose.”
See the similarity? In fact the efforts of our workday aren't any different from the efforts in our spiritual life. They have the same objective: growth. So our attitude to our work and our attitude to our spiritual life are the same. They match.
Our challenge is to make an effort, to struggle at work and in our spiritual life. Nothing good comes easy, right?
Of course, we Catholic men know very well that the spiritual life can't take a back seat to work. We know we've got to commit the time and energy to our spiritual life. It's not something optional. You've just got to make that commitment.
And now we see that you can use the same skills, the same motivation, the same drive in both work and the spiritual life. Grow or die.
We're making progress, guys. We've seen how we can't put God in a box. We know He's right here, right now, even while we're busy ignoring Him at work.
He doesn't make demands. He loves us. He'd appreciate a simple acknowledgment from time to time...maybe even an "I love you, God."
We figured out there's no "up there" for the spiritual life. It's in your face every day, no less than your work. And it's not an "easy chair" thing. It's a struggle.
Now what happens when the bullets really start to fly...when all hell breaks loose? Work gets like that sometimes, doesn't it. Work can fee like war...
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