Flourishing

Whenever I go to Panera, I get a bacon turkey bravo. Its inevitable. There’s something about the combo of turkey, bacon, and gouda that I can’t get enough of. So, its settled. If I’m in Panera, the chances are I’m eating one of these delicious sandwiches with chips and a drink. Yesterday was no different.

I was sitting with a friend, Ben, talking about how it was ten years since he had graduated from the MBA program at Wake Forest University. As we were chatting, a friend of his (and fellow MBA alum) walked up. During the conversation Ben’s friend remarked that he was sick of his job. I’m not sure the precise nature of it, but it had something to do with selling financial products to clients in the medical profession. He said something like: “You know, I’m sick of wearing a suit and tie. I’m sick of standing up and making these pitches…I’m sick of the dog and pony show.” He laughed it off and we moved on to more pleasant topics, namely college basketball.

Ben’s friends comments got me thinking about why we work. A lot of ink has been spilled on this subject, especially recently, so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here.

It seems to me that we should keep the following questions in mind when we’re thinking about our work:

Are we called to this? The word vocation simply means “calling.” All Christians have a general calling (i.e., to follow Christ), but we also have specific callings as well. Our jobs fit into this category. It seems like the rest of these questions are ways of getting at this.

Does this work fulfill you? When you’re at work do you think, “This is worth doing”? You don’t have to feel this way all the time, but a sense that your work is worthwhile should be something you can reconnect to with some regularity.

Does this work employ your natural abilities and talents? Obviously we can’t be perfect at all aspects of our work, but we should be able to find a way of doing our job that plays to our strengths.

Does this work benefit others? We do well to reflect on the intrinsic value of the work we do. Does what we do help or harm others?

For further reflection, you might want to check out Dorothy L. Sayers’ essay, “Why Work?” in her book Creed or Chaos?