On Wanting More From Your Job and Your Spiritual Life
Some of us go about our daily work, one day running into the next. We put in our time and get paid. Others want something more. Whether it's because of ambition or just being bored with our current job, we look for something special in the work we do.
An example of not particularly wanting more:
A fellow I know works a job he's worked for years at a company he's worked for decades. He's thought about retiring, but the job pays well and it's low stress. So he puts in his time each day and collects his check. He lives simply, saves money, has enough left over to enjoy his life, and with a few more years of earning and saving can likely stop working (or not) and be able to continue living as he does now, which suits him just fine. Whether the job is all that interesting or "fulfilling" is of no interest to him.
An example of wanting more:
Another fellow I know sold a business and made a bundle. He likely could live out his days in relative comfort. But he constantly concocts new schemes to start up a new successful company. He's tried a few, but none have taken off. But he keeps trying. Some spark in him always drives him to want more, to try this idea or that, in hopes that he'll start up another company that will fully engage his skills and talents, allow him to draw a substantial salary and - who knows? - maybe sell someday as he did his last company. Even though he could live just fine without all the struggle to succeed in some new fashion, that spark keeps lighting a fire in his belly to succeed in some new way.
On a grander scale, we find a character like the late Steve Jobs. While I haven't seen the newly released movie about Steve Jobs, I did read the book by Walter Isaacson on which it is based. Jobs falls into the camp of those who want more. Many of us are captivated by stories of these exceptional individuals, but that doesn't make them in any way "better" than their more mundane colleagues who simply go about their business every day, content with their lot in life. There's a place for both in this world.
Whether you want more from your job, or your current situation suits you just fine, let's understand that in our spiritual lives we don't have the luxury of picking and choosing our level of contentment. In fact, being content with our current state of affairs, even assuming we're in a state of grace, isn't an option for a serious Catholic. We might compare the need to grow in our spiritual lives to the need for any business to grow. Just as in business, if we don't grow, we don't just stand pat: we regress. As much as it's a fact in business, this is simply a fact of our human nature. So grow we must. Strive for perfection we must. Most importantly, desire to love Our Lord more and more should inflame our hearts each day, as is so beautifully expressed in the opening words of Psalm 41/42:
As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after thee, O God.
In the midst of my busy day at work today, I pray that I might recall this verse:
An example of not particularly wanting more:
A fellow I know works a job he's worked for years at a company he's worked for decades. He's thought about retiring, but the job pays well and it's low stress. So he puts in his time each day and collects his check. He lives simply, saves money, has enough left over to enjoy his life, and with a few more years of earning and saving can likely stop working (or not) and be able to continue living as he does now, which suits him just fine. Whether the job is all that interesting or "fulfilling" is of no interest to him.
An example of wanting more:
Another fellow I know sold a business and made a bundle. He likely could live out his days in relative comfort. But he constantly concocts new schemes to start up a new successful company. He's tried a few, but none have taken off. But he keeps trying. Some spark in him always drives him to want more, to try this idea or that, in hopes that he'll start up another company that will fully engage his skills and talents, allow him to draw a substantial salary and - who knows? - maybe sell someday as he did his last company. Even though he could live just fine without all the struggle to succeed in some new fashion, that spark keeps lighting a fire in his belly to succeed in some new way.
On a grander scale, we find a character like the late Steve Jobs. While I haven't seen the newly released movie about Steve Jobs, I did read the book by Walter Isaacson on which it is based. Jobs falls into the camp of those who want more. Many of us are captivated by stories of these exceptional individuals, but that doesn't make them in any way "better" than their more mundane colleagues who simply go about their business every day, content with their lot in life. There's a place for both in this world.
Whether you want more from your job, or your current situation suits you just fine, let's understand that in our spiritual lives we don't have the luxury of picking and choosing our level of contentment. In fact, being content with our current state of affairs, even assuming we're in a state of grace, isn't an option for a serious Catholic. We might compare the need to grow in our spiritual lives to the need for any business to grow. Just as in business, if we don't grow, we don't just stand pat: we regress. As much as it's a fact in business, this is simply a fact of our human nature. So grow we must. Strive for perfection we must. Most importantly, desire to love Our Lord more and more should inflame our hearts each day, as is so beautifully expressed in the opening words of Psalm 41/42:
As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after thee, O God.
In the midst of my busy day at work today, I pray that I might recall this verse:
Dear Lord, If only my heart could be as this hart. Grant me the grace to desire to grow closer to Thee each day of my life.
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