Earlier this month, over the Labor Day weekend, I enjoyed
some time away from work. In doing so, I was mindful of the work done by others
that made my holiday possible. Mechanics
had oiled and lubricated my vehicle. Road crews had built and maintained the highways
that I traveled. Police patrolled and kept roadways safe. Convenience store
clerks made the journey more convenient. Hotel staff members provided a clean, comfortable
place to spend the night. Cooks and servers put delicious meals on the table in
front of me.
That brief travelogue represents just a small part of our economy
– our interwoven fabric of persons working for and with one another cooperatively.
We typically think of the term “economy” in purely monetary terms. The word,
however, comes from ancient roots meaning “management of the household.” Our shared economy is not merely money
changing hands and profit being made. We live together in an arrangement, in a
society, in a large “household” as a human family. And in that interdependent arrangement, each
worker is valuable and every job is important.
The Bible describes the church as a body of adjoined parts,
all needing each other (1 Corinthians 12:12-17). Something similar could be said of our
relationships in human society as a whole. Every member of society has a role
of service and importance on behalf of others. If the supposedly least or
lowest jobs aren’t being performed, everybody would feel it and be hurt by it.
Imagine your next road trip with no gas stations open for business. Or imagine
your neighborhood with no garbage collection week after week. The most basic of jobs are, in many ways, the
most essential for keeping society functioning.
A money-minded economy tends to elevate and virtually
worship those at the top of the money pile—whose wealth may stem from
inheritance or investments more than from income from work. But it is work
itself—laboring to meet the needs of others—that truly keeps the human household
well-ordered as an “economy.” Work is
dignified and meaningful, a gift of God for us in our lives on earth. From the
beginning, God gave us work to do as managers of the created world. And God
describes work—all persons’ work—as noble and worthwhile. “There is nothing
better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot”
(Ecclesiastes 3:22 NRSV).
Say a prayer of thanks for all the work that others do which
benefits you. And offer thanks, too, for any job that you have—whatever that
job may be. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”
(Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV). Every job is a blessing and an opportunity. And each
person’s work is vital to the life of well-being of one another. We are held together by the many forms of
work that people do. We rely on one another and live together as a community.
