Are you punching the clock at home?
At one time, people "punched the clock" at work. You showed up at the job, took a card from a slot and stuck it into a machine that punched the time on the card. You did the same thing when you left work. That's how your employer knew how many hours you put in at work. If you were paid by the hour, that's how they would calculate your pay.
I don't know if anyone's on the punch clock at work anymore. But some people have a kind of "punch clock" mentality on the job. Once 5 o'clock rolls around they're outa here. They leave work at the job.
If you're an employer or a manager, you can get a little perturbed at this. It looks like they don't really "care" about their work. And sometimes that's true. If your employee just kind of counts the minutes until quitting time, and doesn't put effort into their work, you don't get much value from them having "punched in" that day. They're there, but they're not all there.
But if your employee faithfully and fully does their job, there's really nothing to be perturbed about, is there? If they produce a day's work for a day's pay, justice is served.
Where the clock punching mentality gets to be a problem, though, is at home. I hope this doesn't happen to you - this clock-punching at home mentality - but it has to me. And it starts when you don't leave your work at the job at the end of the day. Now you're at home thinking about your work. Some pressing problem or some project you're working on starts to take over your mind. Your physically there at home but your mind isn't really there at all. Your mind is on your work.
So you punched in at home all right, but you're just kind of putting in time. You're there, but you're not all there.
No doubt work's important. As Catholic men at work, we're called to do our best while we're on the job. Notice; on the job. So when we finish our work for the day and head home, better leave work where it belongs - at work.
Let's think clearly about this. It's really a matter of justice. If our employer pays us to do a job and we take up the time surfing the internet for personal reasons, we're being unjust to our employer. Now, think the same way about home. If you're a husband and/or a father, shouldn't you be a husband and a father while you're home - all the time?
OK, you may have to take some work home from time to time. Fine. Then work. Just let everyone know. "I'm not really here, I'm at work."
So maybe you don't actually say that, but you get my point. It may seem simple, even simplistic. But it's really so basic, so important. And so many of us just can't get it straight.
Little things like this matter - sometimes more than the big things. Those everyday little moments of just being at home are a lot more important than taking the family on some big fancy vacation a couple of times a year. In fact, add up the everyday little things and you probably get a much better picture of life.
We're not just punching the clock and putting in time at home. Being a husband and father is a vocation. It's what and who we are. If you're one of those who wouldn't dream of doing a sloppy, half-hearted job at work, then don't even think about being a sloppy, half-hearted husband or father.
Look, we all know that Jesus really doesn't care how much money you make. And he's really not impressed by your "career." Just think of the Holy Family. They weren't about getting rich or being "successful." That's where we Catholic men look for an example of home life: Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Oh, excuse me, I've got to punch out of this blog now and get back to my family...
I don't know if anyone's on the punch clock at work anymore. But some people have a kind of "punch clock" mentality on the job. Once 5 o'clock rolls around they're outa here. They leave work at the job.
If you're an employer or a manager, you can get a little perturbed at this. It looks like they don't really "care" about their work. And sometimes that's true. If your employee just kind of counts the minutes until quitting time, and doesn't put effort into their work, you don't get much value from them having "punched in" that day. They're there, but they're not all there.
But if your employee faithfully and fully does their job, there's really nothing to be perturbed about, is there? If they produce a day's work for a day's pay, justice is served.
Where the clock punching mentality gets to be a problem, though, is at home. I hope this doesn't happen to you - this clock-punching at home mentality - but it has to me. And it starts when you don't leave your work at the job at the end of the day. Now you're at home thinking about your work. Some pressing problem or some project you're working on starts to take over your mind. Your physically there at home but your mind isn't really there at all. Your mind is on your work.
So you punched in at home all right, but you're just kind of putting in time. You're there, but you're not all there.
No doubt work's important. As Catholic men at work, we're called to do our best while we're on the job. Notice; on the job. So when we finish our work for the day and head home, better leave work where it belongs - at work.
Let's think clearly about this. It's really a matter of justice. If our employer pays us to do a job and we take up the time surfing the internet for personal reasons, we're being unjust to our employer. Now, think the same way about home. If you're a husband and/or a father, shouldn't you be a husband and a father while you're home - all the time?
OK, you may have to take some work home from time to time. Fine. Then work. Just let everyone know. "I'm not really here, I'm at work."
So maybe you don't actually say that, but you get my point. It may seem simple, even simplistic. But it's really so basic, so important. And so many of us just can't get it straight.
Little things like this matter - sometimes more than the big things. Those everyday little moments of just being at home are a lot more important than taking the family on some big fancy vacation a couple of times a year. In fact, add up the everyday little things and you probably get a much better picture of life.
We're not just punching the clock and putting in time at home. Being a husband and father is a vocation. It's what and who we are. If you're one of those who wouldn't dream of doing a sloppy, half-hearted job at work, then don't even think about being a sloppy, half-hearted husband or father.
Look, we all know that Jesus really doesn't care how much money you make. And he's really not impressed by your "career." Just think of the Holy Family. They weren't about getting rich or being "successful." That's where we Catholic men look for an example of home life: Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Oh, excuse me, I've got to punch out of this blog now and get back to my family...
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