I’m starting a small group this week over the lunch hour in the Loop with a focus on how we integrate our faith and our work. Sometimes when people think about mixing these two things together, they imagine it means that they should try harder to invite a co-worker to church or that they should be more ethical. There’s nothing wrong with either of these things, but I hope group participants also think a little more deeply about the goodness of work.
Work is there from the beginning of our faith story. God creates, after all, in the book of Genesis and then invites the first humans to join in the creation/work process (“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it,” says Genesis 2:15). There is goodness and beauty in work. I know there are plenty of people who might question that because they’re in a job that they perceive as soul-crushing or adds nothing beneficial to the world. That can be a very difficult place to be. But I’ve also been inspired lately by two individuals who are in what some might say are “non-glamorous” jobs.
We just had the interior of our home repainted by two men who were nothing short of artisans. I don’t know if I would have used that label before they started, but every day they showed up and quietly and carefully took to painting our walls and ceilings. It was evident that they cared about every stroke of the brush and every movement of the sandpaper. It inspired me to look at my own work to see if I take the same care and pride in what I do.
I was thinking about writing about the painters anyway, but on their last day, when they announced that they were finished, one of the painters told my wife that his painting partner had something for us. As the second painter went out to his truck, the first painter told my wife that his partner was a wood worker, and they must have sensed that we were people of faith. The second painter came back in and presented us with the above picture of Jesus. He first sketched the picture and then used his wood burning tools to create it. He made it just for us. We were floored by this act of kindness, but it confirmed my sense that they consider their work to be a holy task.
We all have that ability whether you work in sales or cook meals for loved ones or diagnose diseases or help a person with her taxes. We create something beautiful with our work even when we feel like no one notices. God does and knows that your offering is good.