Special Tools to Establish Stability in Our Workplace - 4

Our Stability Project continues.   In his Rule, St. Benedict provides us with "tools" that can help us foster stability in the workplace. Today we look at some of these tools. Let's see how we can apply these in the workplace. We'll see how St. Benedict's remarks can help us produce our best work in an atmosphere of stability, despite any problems and distractions we face, especially those coming at us these days.  

Here are today's "Tools of Good Works" from St. Benedict's Holy Rule: 

• Not to be proud.
• Not a wine-bibber.
• Not a glutton.
• Not somnolent.
• Not slothful.
• Not a grumbler.
• Not a detractor.

Proverbs 16-18 tells us: "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." I suspect most of us have sadly witnessed individuals whose pride led them to destruction, and whose arrogance inevitably resulted in a fall - sometimes a very public one. If you yourself have suffered from the terrible vice of pride, or have manifested haughty (arrogant) behavior, let's hope you're actively and urgently addressing this. If you've witnessed the disastrous results of such vice and behavior in others, let's hope that rather than gloat, you sincerely prayed for such people, that their misfortune will lead to their turning away from those behaviors and attitudes.

Wine-bibbing (a "beyond-retro" way to describe those who drink too much) and gluttony have no place in any part of your life, but even if you're occasionally tempted here, you need to know they won't do much for your career advancement when indulged in the work place. Being once a participant in out-of-town sales and marketing meetings, I would often wonder what those who publicly eat or (most especially) drink to excess with business colleagues were thinking. Bad enough to so indulge on your personal time; but you should know that your career will swiftly hit a dead end if you get drunk one time too many in front of your colleagues. And may I suggest once is one time too many.

Somnolence (drowsiness) and sloth (laziness) frequently come as a pair, but either one won't recommend you for that desired promotion. But even more than the obvious practical reasons to avoid the appearance of either, consider the damage to your soul caused by both. If we want to sanctify our work every day, that calls for a high level of effort and enthusiasm. To do our best and to do so for the greater glory of God requires us to expend every last drop of our energy in that pursuit. Holiness doesn't drop down on us from the sky, so to speak. We have to work at it. The work place presents us with one of our best opportunities to do so. Quality work that produces the results sought by our employer, demanded by our business, takes great persistence and endurance. Any tendency to laziness or drowsiness should be attacked vigorously. Get enough sleep. Find work that either engages your interest or makes sufficient demands such that there's no room in your day to be lazy.

Unfortunately, many work places are laced with grumblers who can find nothing good to say about either the work they do, their bosses, or, not infrequently, many of their colleagues. Walk away when you feel the rumble of a grumble. And if you're cornered, be polite for a moment or two, but remind the grumbler that you must get back to some pressing matter.

Grumbling may drag us down, but generally doesn't result in sin. Detraction, on the other hand, frequently does both. We all have a right to our good name. Any comments you might make about another that detracts from this will not infrequently result in your committing the sin of detraction. That's one important reason to avoid all gossip, especially when it consists of speaking in a manner that damages another person's reputation. And it doesn't matter if what you or someone else says is true. The best antidote here would be to remember the old saying: If you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything.

All of these tools address various forms of excess and self-indulgence. Excess and self-indulgence do not lend themselves to stability. Let's grab these tools and use them in our own individual circumstances. They'll help establish stability in our workplace.