Its true. Just like Lover Boy said. Everybody IS working for the weekend. And while everyone else is enjoying this holiday with family and friends I’m at work doing the same thing I do every Monday. Well for the most part the same thing except in a tshirt and jeans. Its ok I’m not mad about it. I get overtime and holiday pay so I make out ok.
Last week on the Walt Bodine show I heard a segment were they were talking about the ethics of work. As interesting as I’m sure you think it sounds there were a few things worth contemplating and what better day than Labor day.
The first dichotomy to bend your mind over is whether you “live to work” or “work to live”. We know which one Loverboy is doing, but if you were too quick to answer you’d probably be neglecting one aspect or the other. The Greeks viewed work as a curse. They thought it was a joke that the Gods would create such a thing and a joke that it would be necessary to live. I do feel like I come from that line of thinking. I mean… I’m lazy. With that said it hasn’t served me well. Really how could this mindset have served anyone well ever in all of history? During the time of the Renaissance the Greeks skewed perspectives on work was drastically changed. With more opportunities people came out of the Dark Age a little more positive. Work was thought as a way to express oneself creatively. Which makes perfect sense as to the image I have of that time in history. I always imagine artisans and craftsman making things. So basically people enjoyed their work more and didn’t see it as a curse from God but as a way to thrive.
As Americans we are definitely lazy. Ironically enough as you have probably heard we have the least amount of vacation time offered. In the worlds eyes we work too much. One of the experts on the show mentioned that this American notion of work is the worse thing we have done in the world. We have succeeded in exporting this idea to the rest of the world. “The bigger the paycheck the better your job“. Which if you ask me is pretty pathetic. You should be able to work, partially at least, for job satisfaction. But as mentioned on the show, owning a BBQ joint which is a satisfying life for some people likely doesn’t pay the bills. The rest of the world which had pretty healthy ideas of work has become convinced that the bigger your pay check is the better your job is, so you better work as hard as you can to get this gigantic pay check.
Not only do I see this as a sad thing because I want more people to have job satisfaction and avoid “a quiet life of desperation”, but because as Christians we are just as guilty as any other group of judging people according to how much they make. Which when you think about it is pretty bad that we as Gods chosen people can’t even do the most basic of things right. I’m not trying to place blame but even as a child I remember hearing women(typically stay at home moms) talk about who does what and how much they make. I guess they really had nothing better to do? Some women (I said some women) have adapted Americas posture towards work regardless of the lead of their husband. Often this is due to the fact that the women has no idea what the husband actually does. She just knows what her weekly allowance is. As we know it is the husbands job to wash his bride in the word and that task can be made virtually impossible when a wife believes the lie that America is teaching the rest of the world(The bigger the paycheck, the better the job is, the better the man is). Is it really that hard to see that making more money to consume more will not bring your family happiness. No doubt it creates opportunities for experiencing happiness but thats really up to the people involved and their attitude. Of course my stereo types aren’t ever an accurate picture of truth. Many of us have bought so much into this consumer culture that we don’t even realize we are judging people this way. For the sake of the post being too long I’m not going to even consider explaining why thats in direct contrast to the gospel story… Just think about it.
One final thought I want to throw out there is that a caller mentioned the happiness/health level of Amish people. One would think with their lack of technology and medical treatment the Amish would be in worse shape than the typical American. However it has been found that the Amish do not have many of the health afflictions that are common for Americans. Why? Well I think its a multifaceted answer but in regards to work it is because they don’t have the crippling stress we have induced on ourselves. For me personally this requires me to realize that if I want happiness, if I want peace, spiritually, mentally, physically I must acknowledge that it is not found in the pursuit of wealth. And if my wife treated me the way I see some wifes treat their husbands in regards to this I would be miserable. Thankfully my wife is nothing like that. She is the furthest thing from it. I feel bad for the man who has a wife who would rather have him be miserable so she could have her spending money than be a husband who is fulfilled in his work and life but perhaps not making alot of bank. So for those women I say, pull it together. And for men that are obsessed with the pursuit of money well I guess they will have to learn the hard way. Good luck with that.
I could go on but I’ll draw my thoughts on the radio show to a close. So like I said, its worth contemplating at least how Americans can think about everything so backasswards. When the tides of culture are this strong one can understand why we are swept away by the lie…as for me I’m going to go look for my island.
Just a dude with a blog that probably shouldn't have one.
