Why Being Holy on the Job Isn't Optional
Being holy on the job isn't something extra. The fact is, we need to get on with the job of being holy. That's why we were born. So being holy on the job is simply part of that.
Okay, maybe I'm not being clear. But this is really important, so let's step back and take a look at why holiness on the job isn't just something "extra" we should bring to work with us every day - why, in fact, it's absolutely essential to our work.
Remember first: work is a big - HUGE - part of our lives. For most of us, work takes up most of the hours of the day. It's eight hours plus. It's the thing we do most, even more than the time we spend sleeping.
Remember next: our goal in this life is to get to heaven. Everything we do serves this purpose. There's no real point of anything else we do if we're not heading for heaven in this life, if we're not consciously and actively working our way to heaven - and that includes working our way to heaven at work.
Sooo...we won't get to heaven if we're not holy - NOW. And "now" includes everyday at work.
And it's not like you can kind of segregate your work from your Catholic faith and only focus on religion the rest of the day - you know, when you're not at work. You're not getting into heaven if you do that.
In fact, you're not getting into heaven until you're holy, PERIOD.
Here, think about this. What do you think: that you're going to become holy when you get to heaven? No, I realize you don't really think that. I doubt you'd be reading a Catholic blog about Catholic men at work if you thought something that silly or stupid. We Catholics know that you need to be holy to get into heaven.
So why don't most of us live that way? Why isn't being holy the single most important thing on our minds all day - and that includes our time at work?
What the heck are we doing all day - especially at work - if being holy isn't our first and most important priority?
Imagine working hard all day, every day, without a single thought or reference to God. I can imagine that. I don't know about you, but that's how I work a lot of the time. I can't count the times I left God at the door to my office. "Good-bye God. See you later. I'm off to work now."
But that's not going to work out very well for me if I die today. You see, the moment I die, I face Jesus and am judged. And one of the things He's going to judge is whether I'm holy - holy enough to get into Heaven. And right off the bat, He's going to see that I haven't even thought about Him all day at work today.
He's naturally going to figure out that being holy - being close to Him - wasn't all that important to me today. So if being holy - being close to Him - wasn't all that important today, why should it be important when it's time to get into Heaven? What's going to change then?
Is it the fear of going to Hell? Maybe that's it. Maybe I can tell Him that I'd much rather be in Heaven, in Paradise, than suffer forever in pain and misery in Hell. Makes sense, doesn't it? Or does it?
Don't you think Jesus might wonder why, if I really did want to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, if it was so important to me, why I didn't even think about Him once during the day at work?
And what would I say to Him then? Maybe something like this: Oh, well, today I had to do these spreadsheets for my boss. He needed them right away. They were kind of complicated and I had to put all my thinking into that - all day, for 9.25 hours straight without a single second's thought about anything else. Really.
And what's Jesus going to think? Something like: Wow, this guy's really smart. I mean can you imaging concentrating like that - 9.25 hours straight, without another single thought about anything else, without even stopping to eat anything or even go to the bathroom. What a mind! What a body! What a man!
I don't think so.
Now, I don't know for sure exactly what Jesus would think. I don't want to sound presumptuous here of course. But I guess what I'm saying is that when I think about it, it makes no sense.
The simple fact is there's always time for Jesus, always time for God, always time to think and pray - if only for a brief moment.
In short there's always time to be holy.
If being holy in life is so important (and it is!), then being holy on the job isn't an option. It's essential.
Okay, maybe I'm not being clear. But this is really important, so let's step back and take a look at why holiness on the job isn't just something "extra" we should bring to work with us every day - why, in fact, it's absolutely essential to our work.
Remember first: work is a big - HUGE - part of our lives. For most of us, work takes up most of the hours of the day. It's eight hours plus. It's the thing we do most, even more than the time we spend sleeping.
Remember next: our goal in this life is to get to heaven. Everything we do serves this purpose. There's no real point of anything else we do if we're not heading for heaven in this life, if we're not consciously and actively working our way to heaven - and that includes working our way to heaven at work.
Sooo...we won't get to heaven if we're not holy - NOW. And "now" includes everyday at work.
And it's not like you can kind of segregate your work from your Catholic faith and only focus on religion the rest of the day - you know, when you're not at work. You're not getting into heaven if you do that.
In fact, you're not getting into heaven until you're holy, PERIOD.
Here, think about this. What do you think: that you're going to become holy when you get to heaven? No, I realize you don't really think that. I doubt you'd be reading a Catholic blog about Catholic men at work if you thought something that silly or stupid. We Catholics know that you need to be holy to get into heaven.
So why don't most of us live that way? Why isn't being holy the single most important thing on our minds all day - and that includes our time at work?
What the heck are we doing all day - especially at work - if being holy isn't our first and most important priority?
Imagine working hard all day, every day, without a single thought or reference to God. I can imagine that. I don't know about you, but that's how I work a lot of the time. I can't count the times I left God at the door to my office. "Good-bye God. See you later. I'm off to work now."
But that's not going to work out very well for me if I die today. You see, the moment I die, I face Jesus and am judged. And one of the things He's going to judge is whether I'm holy - holy enough to get into Heaven. And right off the bat, He's going to see that I haven't even thought about Him all day at work today.
He's naturally going to figure out that being holy - being close to Him - wasn't all that important to me today. So if being holy - being close to Him - wasn't all that important today, why should it be important when it's time to get into Heaven? What's going to change then?
Is it the fear of going to Hell? Maybe that's it. Maybe I can tell Him that I'd much rather be in Heaven, in Paradise, than suffer forever in pain and misery in Hell. Makes sense, doesn't it? Or does it?
Don't you think Jesus might wonder why, if I really did want to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, if it was so important to me, why I didn't even think about Him once during the day at work?
And what would I say to Him then? Maybe something like this: Oh, well, today I had to do these spreadsheets for my boss. He needed them right away. They were kind of complicated and I had to put all my thinking into that - all day, for 9.25 hours straight without a single second's thought about anything else. Really.
And what's Jesus going to think? Something like: Wow, this guy's really smart. I mean can you imaging concentrating like that - 9.25 hours straight, without another single thought about anything else, without even stopping to eat anything or even go to the bathroom. What a mind! What a body! What a man!
I don't think so.
Now, I don't know for sure exactly what Jesus would think. I don't want to sound presumptuous here of course. But I guess what I'm saying is that when I think about it, it makes no sense.
The simple fact is there's always time for Jesus, always time for God, always time to think and pray - if only for a brief moment.
In short there's always time to be holy.
If being holy in life is so important (and it is!), then being holy on the job isn't an option. It's essential.
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