Love or Hate Your Work?
Do you hate your job? Maybe it just bores you to tears: your work isn't "fulfilling." Perhaps your boss has nothing better to do than, well, boss you around. Or perhaps you're stuck working with folks who, on a good day, get on your nerves, on other days drive you up the wall.
Maybe you don't hate your job so much. But there are days where you just feel yourself surrounded by the secular pagan culture that's taken over. And there you are, good Catholic, or at least trying to be a good Catholic, like a man looking for water in the desert. You seek but you don't find.
If you've never worked at a job that was, shall we say, less than perfect, you may not know what I'm talking about. But surely you know what it feels like to be a real Catholic in this world of ours. You've occasionally had that feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb.
On my best days, in my favorite jobs, there were times when it struck me how little there was to talk about with the people I worked with, most of whom were decent folks, but many of whom really were steeped in the vulgar, vapid culture that shaped their character and informed their minds. That's just one of the reasons my few minutes reading Scripture each morning can be such a joy and comfort.
What? You don't read Scripture every day for a few minutes? You don't look to the solace and light of God's Holy Word each day? Okay, then go ahead and start, won't you please? Like right now. I'd like you to read what Psalm 40:4 says. I just read it and it's really appropriate for us Catholics working every day in our secular pagan world:
First, it reminds us to trust in God. And how many times we need to be reminded of this! In a world where most folks look to themselves, and spend inordinate amounts of time with so many forms of "self-improvement" techniques - physical, mental, even spiritual - simply trusting in God can get lost in the shuffle.
As for the proud who follow false gods, they're everywhere. I'm not being "judgmental" here. I'm not pointing my finger at anyone in particular. (Indeed, I could point my finger at myself, if truth be told.) It's just that that's what secular pagan culture is all about. Right?
But you don't need the Bible to tell you all this. You know it just by living in this world of ours. However, you'll see why reading Scripture each day will provide the light and, yes, the comfort you need to get up and take up the struggle to live life as God intended for us to live it. Just keep reading Psalm 40:
See how the Psalm reminds us of the Presence of God in our lives, even in the midst of our secular pagan culture, even when we have to go to a job that's not all that wonderful or inspiring?
It's not this world of ours that should grab our attention so much of the time. It's God. Our minds and hearts should start the day with Him. We should take Him with us to work. And at the end of the day, we should acknowledge not just his Presence, but all that He has done for us. That's living and working as a Catholic.
It's wonderful if you like - even love - your work. On the other hand, that's not always the case for many of us. And if it isn't, maybe you should look for other work. On the other hand, that may not be possible, especially in today's tough times. But whether you love or hate your job - or you're somewhere in between - you can live and work in the light of God's Holy Word, You can draw comfort, when it's needed, from God's Holy Word.
Just pick up your Bible once a day and start reading. It's that simple.
Maybe you don't hate your job so much. But there are days where you just feel yourself surrounded by the secular pagan culture that's taken over. And there you are, good Catholic, or at least trying to be a good Catholic, like a man looking for water in the desert. You seek but you don't find.
If you've never worked at a job that was, shall we say, less than perfect, you may not know what I'm talking about. But surely you know what it feels like to be a real Catholic in this world of ours. You've occasionally had that feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb.
On my best days, in my favorite jobs, there were times when it struck me how little there was to talk about with the people I worked with, most of whom were decent folks, but many of whom really were steeped in the vulgar, vapid culture that shaped their character and informed their minds. That's just one of the reasons my few minutes reading Scripture each morning can be such a joy and comfort.
What? You don't read Scripture every day for a few minutes? You don't look to the solace and light of God's Holy Word each day? Okay, then go ahead and start, won't you please? Like right now. I'd like you to read what Psalm 40:4 says. I just read it and it's really appropriate for us Catholics working every day in our secular pagan world:
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods!
First, it reminds us to trust in God. And how many times we need to be reminded of this! In a world where most folks look to themselves, and spend inordinate amounts of time with so many forms of "self-improvement" techniques - physical, mental, even spiritual - simply trusting in God can get lost in the shuffle.
As for the proud who follow false gods, they're everywhere. I'm not being "judgmental" here. I'm not pointing my finger at anyone in particular. (Indeed, I could point my finger at myself, if truth be told.) It's just that that's what secular pagan culture is all about. Right?
But you don't need the Bible to tell you all this. You know it just by living in this world of ours. However, you'll see why reading Scripture each day will provide the light and, yes, the comfort you need to get up and take up the struggle to live life as God intended for us to live it. Just keep reading Psalm 40:
Thou has multiplied, O Lord my God,
thy wondrous deeds and thy thoughts
toward us;
none can compare with thee!
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be numbered.
See how the Psalm reminds us of the Presence of God in our lives, even in the midst of our secular pagan culture, even when we have to go to a job that's not all that wonderful or inspiring?
It's not this world of ours that should grab our attention so much of the time. It's God. Our minds and hearts should start the day with Him. We should take Him with us to work. And at the end of the day, we should acknowledge not just his Presence, but all that He has done for us. That's living and working as a Catholic.
It's wonderful if you like - even love - your work. On the other hand, that's not always the case for many of us. And if it isn't, maybe you should look for other work. On the other hand, that may not be possible, especially in today's tough times. But whether you love or hate your job - or you're somewhere in between - you can live and work in the light of God's Holy Word, You can draw comfort, when it's needed, from God's Holy Word.
Just pick up your Bible once a day and start reading. It's that simple.
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