How Work Tempers the Will for the Good
Work tempers our will - that same will which, left to its own inclinations, sometimes threatens to take us "every which way," especially when we face tasks at work that we'd prefer not doing; or, if we can't avoid them, we at least prefer to put them off.
I don't know about you, but even though I enjoy the work I do, I don't enjoy every single thing I have to do every day. There are tasks that I simply would prefer not doing. Indeed, sometimes I think if I had a bigger business I could assign some of these tasks to someone else, and just focus my time on the things I really like doing. But I don't. I run a small business and the tasks requiring professional knowledge and skills always fall on me - and some of those tasks are, frankly, a pain in the neck.
Now, I'm not saying I always handle such tasks immediately, the moment they land on my plate, but over the years I've gotten better at it. For one thing, I've learned that putting off such tasks only delays the unpleasant: it's got to be done eventually (duh!). But a more important lesson I've learned is that by applying myself promptly to such tasks, I can temper my will, controlling its natural inclination to move on to some more interesting task. That increases my self-control - something we all should do on a regular basis, self-control being a virtue.
I'm also not saying that applying myself promptly hasn't been difficult; I still struggle with this. Last Friday, as I wound up the week's work, one task remained outstanding that I really wasn't in the mood to do. As Friday afternoon pushed into early evening, the temptation arose to push off this task to Monday. But I knew Monday was already tight - and the temptation would only arise to push off the task to Tuesday...and so on. The task wasn't urgent, but it was important. And it had to be done before a whole series of follow-ups could occur - follow-ups that will be important, even critically important, pieces that make up a project I'm working on for a client.
Anyway, I turned to Our Lord - something I didn't always do in the past. I turned to Him right away. It told Him that I needed His help to get this task done. I even told Him I couldn't get it done without His help. I was counting on His help; I relied on Him; I trusted that He would provide whatever I needed to get this task done and get it done right. The prayer didn't take much time. And I even remembered, as I prayed, that I worked for the greater glory of God (or at least that is my intent each day).
As I looked at the time, and saw that we were heading quickly to 6 PM (whatever ever happened to my resolution to finish work by 5 PM - the latest - on Fridays?!!), I quickly and peacefully tackled the task and it was done in what seemed like a snap - by only a bit after 6 PM. As is typical in situations like this, the task took a lot less time than I had imagined; and it was "easier" than I imagined. When I finished, I wondered what the big deal was. Why had I put this off for almost two days?
The only answer I could come up with was the natural inclination of my will to go "every which way" - any way but towards the accomplishment of a task I just didn't want to do because, basically, it was tedious. I preferred something more interesting, more engaging.
So countering that natural inclination with the supernatural (turning to Our Lord and requesting His help) would, in the end, do the trick. The sequence was: a short, sincere, specific prayer first, then the grace I needed to temper my will and focus my time and attention on that tedious task. At least that's the way it seemed to work last Friday evening. And in the end, my work tempered my will for the Good - not only the good of my client, but but also the greater glory of God, something I strive to do each day.
Next time we'll turn to our old friend, the Rule of St Benedict, to see just how critically important is this tempering of our will.
I don't know about you, but even though I enjoy the work I do, I don't enjoy every single thing I have to do every day. There are tasks that I simply would prefer not doing. Indeed, sometimes I think if I had a bigger business I could assign some of these tasks to someone else, and just focus my time on the things I really like doing. But I don't. I run a small business and the tasks requiring professional knowledge and skills always fall on me - and some of those tasks are, frankly, a pain in the neck.
Now, I'm not saying I always handle such tasks immediately, the moment they land on my plate, but over the years I've gotten better at it. For one thing, I've learned that putting off such tasks only delays the unpleasant: it's got to be done eventually (duh!). But a more important lesson I've learned is that by applying myself promptly to such tasks, I can temper my will, controlling its natural inclination to move on to some more interesting task. That increases my self-control - something we all should do on a regular basis, self-control being a virtue.
I'm also not saying that applying myself promptly hasn't been difficult; I still struggle with this. Last Friday, as I wound up the week's work, one task remained outstanding that I really wasn't in the mood to do. As Friday afternoon pushed into early evening, the temptation arose to push off this task to Monday. But I knew Monday was already tight - and the temptation would only arise to push off the task to Tuesday...and so on. The task wasn't urgent, but it was important. And it had to be done before a whole series of follow-ups could occur - follow-ups that will be important, even critically important, pieces that make up a project I'm working on for a client.
Anyway, I turned to Our Lord - something I didn't always do in the past. I turned to Him right away. It told Him that I needed His help to get this task done. I even told Him I couldn't get it done without His help. I was counting on His help; I relied on Him; I trusted that He would provide whatever I needed to get this task done and get it done right. The prayer didn't take much time. And I even remembered, as I prayed, that I worked for the greater glory of God (or at least that is my intent each day).
As I looked at the time, and saw that we were heading quickly to 6 PM (whatever ever happened to my resolution to finish work by 5 PM - the latest - on Fridays?!!), I quickly and peacefully tackled the task and it was done in what seemed like a snap - by only a bit after 6 PM. As is typical in situations like this, the task took a lot less time than I had imagined; and it was "easier" than I imagined. When I finished, I wondered what the big deal was. Why had I put this off for almost two days?
The only answer I could come up with was the natural inclination of my will to go "every which way" - any way but towards the accomplishment of a task I just didn't want to do because, basically, it was tedious. I preferred something more interesting, more engaging.
So countering that natural inclination with the supernatural (turning to Our Lord and requesting His help) would, in the end, do the trick. The sequence was: a short, sincere, specific prayer first, then the grace I needed to temper my will and focus my time and attention on that tedious task. At least that's the way it seemed to work last Friday evening. And in the end, my work tempered my will for the Good - not only the good of my client, but but also the greater glory of God, something I strive to do each day.
Next time we'll turn to our old friend, the Rule of St Benedict, to see just how critically important is this tempering of our will.
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