Work as a Need of Human Nature

We return to Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski's Working Your Way into Heaven to understand how our work is a need of human nature. First we see how work isn't something we must do simply in order to gain the necessities of living, like food, clothing, and shelter. Yes, we do sustain our material existence by our work. But there's more to our work than just earning money get the things we need.

Work is the duty of man. This duty arises from the very needs of man's life, as well as from the meaning that work holds for his perfection.

Without work it is not possible either to sustain life or to reach the full development of one's personality.

We remain incomplete, imperfect without our work. (If you ever thought you'd quit your job and "do nothing" if you hit the lottery, think again.) As we've already seen, Christianity elevated work from the pagan idea that it was only fit for slaves and servants. Now we learn that each of us also needs work to fully develop our individual personalities. This brings up again the point that work was never intended to be a punishment for Original Sin. We were, in a certain sense, created for work, right from the beginning.

God set man down in Paradise and commanded him "to dress it and to keep it." Thus even before the Fall, man had to work. For he had to "dress" Paradise. Therefore work was the duty of man from the first day of his life. It is not, then the result of Original Sin; it is not a punishment for disobedience. On the contrary, work is closely related to the rational nature of man.

Of course, Original Sin did change the rules of the game.

To the ordinary duty of work is added difficulty in performance, unknown until then but which is the normal consequence of the corruption of the mind and the will through sin.

While some of us may have jobs we just can't stand doing, for most of us work presents at least moments of satisfaction, if not outright enjoyment. My own work requires a lot of problem-solving. When I find an elegant solution to a particularly difficult set of problems, it's not only satisfying, but even a source of joy. The more time it takes to find that solution, the harder I work at it, the greater the satisfaction and joy. And it's not just that I feel good about my efforts, of course. This problem-solving benefits others. In your own case, depending on the job you have, those others can include your boss, your colleagues, and your customers. And as we've already learned, it can even include God. In fact, the fact that our work is a need of our human nature demonstrates a level of trust that God has put in us. He trusts us to use our work responsibly.

It is not a punishment but is trust shown in man. It must not only preserve human life but satisfy all our needs.

Next time we'll look in more detail at how our work both preserves our lives and satisfies our material and spiritual needs.