Sixth Principle: Work is
Meaningful
If it were desired to reduce a man to nothing, it would be necessary only to give his work a character of uselessness."
Sooner or later all work must come to an end. Perhaps it is the completion of a small task that takes just a few minutes; perhaps it is the closing of one job and the opening of another; perhaps it is the end of a career and the beginning of retirement; or perhaps it is the time when we stand before God and He judges us according to our works (Matthew 16:27).
Whenever work comes to an end, it is time to pass judgment on the results. We may be surprised to learn how vigorously and how regularly God judged the value of His work in the Creation. From the very first day when He separated the light from the darkness, God stepped back, surveyed His work and saw "that it was good" (Genesis 1:4).
His daily assessment continued on the second day when He divided the land from the sea (1:9); the third day when He produced vegetation (1:12); the fourth day when He made the sun, moon, and stars (1:18); the fifth day when He fashioned
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fish and fowl (1:21). On the sixth day, then, He stopped in the middle of the day to check the results of the quality of the animals He made before moving on to the crowning glory of His work — the formation of humankind in His own image (1:27). After this highest level of His Creation, God stepped back one more time and viewed His total work through he eyes of His perfection. What He saw prompted Him to declare, "it was very good" (1:31).
EVALUATING OUR WORK
In Scripture we find some fundamental principle about evaluating our work. God expects work to be exhausted. By setting the requirement for Himself, God dispels forever the idea that the performance of anyone is exempt from evaluation. And with evaluation comes accountability. One of the weakest and most pathetic excuses from a television evangelist caught in scandal was his plea, "I am responsible only to God." He is right in one way. God will be the final judge of his works, but he was failing to accept the Scripture he claimed to preach. Throughout biblical history God held His people accountable for their works, not only to Himself but to each other as well.
God expects work to be evaluated in process, as well as in the finished product.
By putting Himself on the line for a daily evaluation, God set the standard
for review of our work during its developmental stages. We learn this lesson
the hard way. When I made my first model airplane, my anticipation for the
finished product caused me to start with Step I of the instructions and then
skip over the details for Steps II, III, IV, and V. At Step VI disaster struck.
Although the fuselage looked complete, I discovered that I had missed a step
from which there was no recovery except to cut apart the thick balsa strips
which formed the skeleton, and try to reglue them. I ruined that airplane
but learned a lesson: follow the instructions, and after
each
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step, review your work before you move on.
Most of us are not subject to regular review of our work, and when we are, we tend to resist it. Yet, deep down, we know that it is best for us. Constructive criticism keeps both production and quality on the growing edge. Note the words constructive and criticism. In his book, The One Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard reminds us that review of our work should be guided by this goal: change the behavior, but save the person.1 Whether we are an employer giving the criticism or an employee receiving it, we must insist on saving the person. If I were an employee who suffered from personalized criticism of my work to the damage of my self-esteem, I would have to confront my boss. Sure, some bosses will not change, but others can learn that there is another way. In fact, as a Christian I would try to find a way to affirm my boss as a valued person. The surprise might be enough to encourage a change of attitude and behavior.
God also expects a review of our finished work. The standard of judgment
now steps up a notch. Not only must each part of our work be "good" but the
finished product must be "very good" because all of the parts fit together.
Throughout my career in Christian higher education, I have watched college
presidents come to their positions as specialists in an area of work such
as academics, fund-raising, or student-affairs. During their tenure as president
they receive commendation for their work, but after they leave, the flaws
of neglected programs are exposed. While the work of their presidencies might
be judged "good" in part, it could not be considered "very good" in
whole.
Or, take another example. Currently, my automobile is one of the "talking cars" that were a fad a few years ago. My grandchildren in particular will coax me to go through the whole routine of the voice saying, "Please fasten your seatbelts." "Don't forget your keys." "A door is ajar." In fact, the older ones quickly caught the play on words and asked, "How
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can a door be a jar?" As exotic as it may seem, the computerized voice is a pain, somewhere in my car there is an intermittent electrical short that mechanics have not been able to find in four years of searching. Because of the flaw, the battery runs down, the speedometer quits working, and the voice goes silent. If you ask me how I evaluate my car, the answer is "good" but not "very good." All of the essential parts appear to be satisfactory, but the finished product is flawed.
God expects us to finish our work at a quality level which can be evaluated as "very good." Some of us are innovators with the genius to generate ideas and get things started. Others of us are planners with special ability for organizing ideas, establishing programs, developing work schedules to get things done. Still others are implementers or doers with the hands-on skills to turn plans into productive results. Whichever gift is ours, we need to finish our work in relationship to those with complementary gifts and labors. Innovators, planners, and implementers need each other. The Apostle Paul recognized this unity even in the ministry when he wrote, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6).
We each need to know where we fit in in the process, for few of us can bring our work to its final completion. We may finish products or come to closure on phases of our work, but as Christians we are always working by faith toward the end where God's total purpose is fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. This perspective is especially necessary for those of us who do not see the result of our work. In education, for instance, our products are never finished. Even though we confer diplomas or degrees of completion upon our graduates, we use the word commencement to mark the occasion. Our goal is to prepare the students with the basic knowledge, values, and skills that can develop through a lifetime. More likely than not, we will never see the finished product. Occasionally, when we do, our joy is immeasurable. One of my former students has become a prominent
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Christian author. Each new book he writes reminds me of the time that we knelt together at an altar of prayer, where he struggled with the will of God for his life. I remember saying, "God has given you the gift of writing which He wants to use." Whether my former student remembers those words or not is incidental. When I read his gifted writings, I feel personal satisfaction in the finished product.
THE TEST OF QUALITY
God expects our work to pass the quality test for results that are "good" and "very good." The test comes in three questions:
Is our work excellent? Excellence is an overused and misused word.
Several years ago John Gardner wrote a book called Excellence that
became one of the most significant influences upon my career in education.
Most of us remember Gardner's quotation which has become part of our contemporary
wisdom, "We must have excellent plumbers as well as philosophers; otherwise
neither our pipes nor our philosophies will hold
water."2 We are told that Americans have the
genius for creative new technology, but that the Japanese have the genius
for quality by which they copy our technology and beat us at our own game
by adding the highest level of quality to the product. The prediction for
the future is clear. Unless Americans can add quality to creativity, our
economy may collapse.
Early on my father taught me, "Any work worth doing is worth doing well." Later in life the standard has taken on a spiritual dimension for me. I am convinced that the excellence of our work is second only to the integrity of our character as the front edge of our Christian witness in the world. My sister, Pat, is a leading teacher and author in the field of business education. In preparation for the college classes she teaches on business writing, she collects letters that come to her and uses them as good and bad examples of style, content, and tone.
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The other day she called me to report that she had received her first "perfect letter, but that she couldn't use it in her class. Why? The letter came from Asbury Theological Seminary acknowledging a gift she had given to our ministry. The personal nature of the letter and its spiritual language made it unwise to use it in a public setting. But Pat wanted me to know, so I called for a copy of the letter and sent a note of congratulations along with my gratitude to the Executive Director of Development who had written it and to his secretary who had typed it. Excellence carries its own witness.
Is our work excellent? Wherever we are and whatever we do, the quality of our work opens the way for our Christian witness. It is not that we strive for excellence just to witness. The quality of our work has its own reward in the satisfaction that we have done our best with the gifts God has given us. Nothing less is pleasing to Him or to us.
Is our work ethical? Excellence in our work cannot be separated from our
ethics. Only ethical work can be good. If our best efforts are not "right"
in relationship to what is truthful and fair, our work is corrupted. In all
aspects, our work must be true. I remember a contractor who was also a lay
leader in his local church. In the community, however, he had the reputation
for cutting the margins on the specifications on his building so that roofs
with minimal tar leaked early and pipes with thin wrapping corroded before
their time. Each time I heard him testify in church, I thought about leaky
roofs and corroded pipes.
The ethic of truth will apply to the process of our work as well as to its finished product. Too many people have succumbed to the old falsehood that the end justifies the means. One of the most blatant current violations of truth is to justify state lotteries because the profits improve education. To justify the means of gambling for the end of education is unconscionable. Moral ends can never be reached by immoral means.
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The same falsehood is also applied to fund-raiding projects in religious organizations. One church held a walkathon for missions using its youth as the walkers. At the risk of being charged with an anti-mission attitude, I refused to contribute when I found out that the organization which the church called in to organize that walkathon would "walk off" with sixty percent of the contributions as administrative costs.
How far does truthfulness go? A founder of a national insurance corporation believes that it goes down to paper clips. He tells about an up-and-coming executive who was headed for the presidency of the company. When the founding chairman found that the executive kept his office at home supplied with boxes of company paper clips, he fired him. In retaliation, the executive set up a competitive company which had momentary success but ended up in bankruptcy when the agency which regulates the insurance industry found that he had falsified records from the start of the company. When the founding chairman begins his orientation sessions for new employees with the words, "Honesty begins with paper clips," everyone listens.
What is the minimal standard of truth against which to measure the good of our work? If we are public officials, it is our oath of office; if we are doctors or lawyers, it is our code of ethics; if we are clergy, it is our vow of ordination; if we are contracted employees, it is the terms of our agreement; if we are hourly workers, it is the stipulations for our hiring.
Over and above our oaths, vows, contracts, and verbal agreement is the spiritual standard for truthfulness revealed in the Word of God. Something more than a general morality is expected of Christians. For example, Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). We usually interpret this passage as an admonition for our Christian witness. More careful reading shows that the brilliant light of our faith reveals our work to be so indisputably good that even nonbelievers
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glorify God. Imagine our daily work under such scrutiny. Unless our work is right, fair, and true, it cannot stand the test. The light of truth is like the investigative light of the media searching into the background of public officials. Not many years ago the escapades of politicians could be covered up. This morning's newspaper, for instance, carried another story about the cover-up of Chappaquiddick to protect the political future of Teddy Kennedy. Today we cannot imagine such a possibility. The media now uncovers very sin and flaw of our politicians, ranging from Joseph Biden's plagiarism of thesis content to Pat Robertson's fatherhood before marriage.
Would our daily work stand such microscopic scrutiny? From time to time, I ask myself. How have I used my time? How have I treated my people? How have I reported my expenses? How have I written my reports? How have I presented my credentials? My conclusion brings me full cycle back to the biblical truth: under the glaring light of public visibility and in anticipation of the unavoidable light of final judgment, we Christians need to be "squeaky clean" in our personal lives and utterly true in our daily work.
Is our work edifying? Still a higher standard of the good for our daily work
is to ask, "Is it edifying?" Just as we must ask if our daily work is ethical,
we must also ask if it is morally uplifting. The test has two parts: Does
our work contribute to the moral good of the larger community, particularly
to the body of Christ? and Does our work glorify God?
Our daily work is corrupted by radical self-interest when it contributes only to ourselves rather than to our community or the body of Christ of which we are a part. Today, self-actualization and self-esteem are so pervasive in our culture that even students of Christian colleges and seminaries put a premium on them. Christians need to stop and ask, "How does my daily work contribute to the moral good of the community, especially to the community of faith?"
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When we ask this question, our perspective on our daily work radically changes. Think again of the "perfect" letter from our Executive Director of Development. Rather than the typist seeing herself as an insignificant laborer in a necessary office routine, she asks how the content and quality of the letter contributes to the communication of the mission of the seminary. The worker on the auto assembly line feels pride in a quality product of transportation. Homemakers who feel left out of the "working" world are contributing to the stability of the family and society. Whatever our vocation, I am convinced that God does not call us into daily work that has no value beyond our own self-realization. We are too interdependent for that.
Let's take the question, "Is it edifying?" one step further, Our daily work should not only contribute to the good to the community, but should also enrich the body of Christ. Just as in Christ, there is no East or West, no Jew or Greek, no bond or free, so in vocation there is neither sacred nor secular, neither menial nor exalted work. Custodians, secretaries, salespersons, and truck drivers can contribute just as much to the community of faith as accountants, attorneys, physicians, and chief executives. I know a truck driver who found Christ at a yuppie church in the suburbs. Three marriages and alcoholism had almost ruined his life; but after he met Christ, he had a story to tell that gave hope to newcomers who were up and out.
How often I have said that the diverse gifts of the congregation represent the greatest untapped resource of the church. If only we would take an inventory of the gifts and match them with the needs of the church, we would dignify our daily work and multiply the potential outreach of the body of Christ in our daily work as well as in our congregational ministries.
All of this leads us to the enlarged spiritual meaning of good as the test for our daily work. Certainly God spoke more meaning into His assessment of Creation than that it was excellent
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ethical, and edifying. His Spirit must have leaped for joy with the satisfaction of work well done.
As we look back upon our daily work we should sense the joy of satisfaction for a work well done. When we do, we can close each day with the prayer, "Thank You, God, for the joy of my daily work." When this is not the case, the agenda for another day should appear before us in the question, "What can I do tomorrow to make a difference in my work so that I can close the next day with a sense of joy? I know that many days end in frustration. Yet, as we gain the perspective of the spirituality of good work, and envision its potential for glorifying God, we will find ourselves finishing more and more days with the prayer of thanksgiving for the joy of our daily work.
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SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS
ON OUR WORK AND MEANING
Whatever you do, work at it with all your
heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
since you know that you will receive an in-
heritance from the Lord as a reward.
Colossians 3:23
* * * * * * *
A PROVOCATIVE QUESTION
What is the quality of your daily work? Do you see it as an offering to God in which you do your best?
A PRACTICAL EXERCISE
All work has its moral dilemmas when we must choose between right and wrong. What has been the most difficult choice you have had to make in your work experience? Was it a clear choice between right and wrong? Or did you have to choose between a lower and a higher good? How did you resolve your dilemma?
A PERSONAL PRAYER
Lord, at least on occasion, may I experience the greatest reward and the highest commendation for my daily work when I sense Your Spirit saying, "It is very good." Amen
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1. Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, The One Minute Manager (New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1982), 8.
2. John Gardner, Excellence (New York: Harper, 1961), 86.
