Work! Work! Work!

How do you think about working? Is it mere drudgery? Is it a means to an end—income? We spend approximately one-third of our life working. Why do we grow up beyond the youth years? To work, of course! To be a grownup is to be ready to work. To be "grown up" is to be busy—at work. This article outlines ways contemporary adults examine their work lives and apply Christian values to this significant part of their daily living.

Before World War II, female employment was largely restricted to the unmarried. After marriage or the birth of a child, most women withdrew from the workplace. After the War, in the early 50s there were far fewer unmarried women to fill those employment vacancies. At that time jobs were more tightly gender stratified, and employers had no alternative but to begin hiring married women to fill jobs previously filled by unmarried women. Added to that was the rise in the continuing education movement in the 60s, which allowed married women to move into new employment.

These changes have resulted in a resetting of the social clock. So the woman returning to the work force is younger because she has been absent from the labor force for a shorter period of time. Today and for the past 20 years, more and more women are either returning to the work force or have never left it, despite establishing families and becoming mothers.

The earlier dictum, of "one job for life" no longer holds. The odds of a person's staying in one job for life are getting slimmer all the time. These developments mean that we can now think of work as we do our lives—in terms of the seasons of life. Work and vocation have different meanings as we age. Young adults should no longer count on a linear experience of education in their 20s, working until 65, and then retiring. More and more young adults are adapting to a parallel life course of working, breaking away from work for further skill development or additional schooling, then returning to the same or a different job.

Adults in their middle years have a different perspective on working. They face new challenges such as shrinking opportunities for promotion and pressure from the younger generation. Plus, they face the unwillingness of the older generation to retire, which further limits their career opportunities. Older boomers face the possibilities of work life in their 50s as a dull, boring trap. Accordingly, they should rethink their leisure commitments and start thinking about part-time work, hobbies, or other ways of maintaining identifiable and satisfying interests.

Church leaders with adults should focus on the meaning of work to their daily lives. Many workers face burnout, an employee's loss of enthusiasm for doing their jobs. This trauma is especially seen with those in helping professions such as medicine, teaching, and social work. Another problem is alienation, which occurs when workers feel their work is unimportant and uninteresting. No doubt you have seen alienation in large factories in which a worker is not recognized as a person but merely as a drone who performs a repetitive task. In a positive turn, middle-age adults often redefine their work goals and invest less of their ego in their job and take a more relaxed approach to their work.

How should believers evaluate their work according to God's standards? The Bible gives ample evidence of reasons to work:

• To fulfill God's plan—Genesis 2:15; Psalms 104:19-24; Isaiah 28:23-29
  
  
• To earn a living—2 Thessalonians 3:10
  
  
• To avoid idleness—1 Thessalonians 4:11; 1 Timothy 5:13
  
  
• To share with others—Ephesians 4:28
  
  
• To be a testimony—1 Timothy 6:1-2
  
  
• To honor God—Ephesians 6:6-8

Christians should obey the injunctions of Scripture, rather than their feelings, when deciding about their attitudes toward work. Genesis 2:15 offers a positive outlook on work. Adam is expected to till and keep the field in the garden. Thus work, even in paradise, is part of human fulfillment. God does not intend us to partake in mindless labor just to keep us busy. Instead, in this instance God has entrusted the field to Adam; he is in charge of the work to be done. Of course in the Fall, man realizes obstacles to satisfaction and joy in one's work. Even with that, work is not considered a punishment. Everything, and everyone, created by God, is good. Work is good because God created it. What has changed is that we now see that our work builds up the kingdom and we are cocreators with God. Work can give meaning to our existence, open up channels for our creativity, and offer us means to help others. The way back to the paradise model of work is to collaborate with God, and this means adopting His standards for work, not our own.

The Bible does not describe a detailed plan for owners and workers. What we know about cooperation, equality, and harmony in the workplace we learn from Bible teachings on unity, oneness, and the common good. For instance, Philippians 2:4 says, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Christian managers, foremen, and others employers should obey this biblical injunction toward their employees. Furthermore, women earn significantly less than men earn. In America the ratio of female to male earning is about 0.75, a figure that is typical of other developing countries. Disabled women, for instance, are paid less than disabled men are paid. The Bible clearly brings good news to today's women: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).

AdultApplication: Can a person be under the judgment of God because of his work? How should a Christian choose an occupation? What are some considerations for meaningful and fulfilling employment? What are some dangers inherent in our work? How may one give a Christian witness at work?

Do you know how members of your class or in your church feel about their work? How can your class share the excitement of a young professional on the way up? help someone who has lost a job? encourage those who are losing their enthusiasm for their work, feel trapped in a dead-end job, or are holding on for retirement?