Thirty-nine years ago, I started my career as an instructor of Agricultural Education. I taught my first two years at Culpeper Jr. High School and was thankful to make my beginner mistakes away from home. In 1988, I returned to my alma mater, Central High School, to teach for the next 15 years before transitioning to fulltime ministry.
A few years before I returned to Central, Mr. Derwood Myers had retired after teaching agriculture for 40 years. I remember thinking how that sounded like an eternity wondering how anyone did the same thing for that long. That was before my father finished 60 years as a taxidermist and Central’s Ag Department now has another teacher in her 40th year, Sherry Heishman.
The years have a way of ticking by and before we realize it they add up to retirement. But lest we think any of these individuals had all rainbows and unicorns at work, I assure you they did not. I witnessed the struggles my dad endured as an entrepreneur working six days a week. And having taught beside Sherry, I also know some of the challenges we faced then and that she still faces. As for Mr. Myers, I’ve heard stories of students putting screwdrivers in his gas tank and pulling other pranks on him.
Although Labor Day grew out of the organized labor movement, today it is a time to reflect on the value of all workers. Hard work is what has built this nation and is, in fact, responsible for every major advancement in world history. And while new hires may become disillusioned by conditions that are less than ideal, it is, after all, called work and not play.
Every profession, trade, and occupation has its benefits as well as its drawbacks. While humans were created to work by tending Eden’s Garden, the experience of doing so became stressful, sweat-filled, and difficult after Adam’s disobedience. Ever since, we have had to exert extra energy, work longer hours, and, in a word, labor.
In America today, 75% of employees report that they are stressed and burned out at work and 95% of human resource professionals say that good employees leave because of burnout. One out of every two US workers dislikes his or her job which is sad because the average person spends 90,000 hours of their life there.
The reasons for job dissatisfaction are varied and include everything from monotony to danger and from incompetent managers to disloyal companies. Another factor can be working in fields that don’t match our gifts and talents. God has gifted every person with abilities and interests to do certain things well and research reveals that we are most content when we work in those fields. Sadly, many either never take the time to discover their strengths or opportunities are too limited.
Even for those who are fortunate to work in their areas of giftedness, there are still duties and routines that are less than enjoyable. My dad warned me years ago about not being defeated by monotony but to take it in stride and to find joy outside work. Even this has been set aside by personal choice for the 75% of us who don’t take all of our earned vacation days. Good music and good lives are made up of properly timed movements and rests.
One of the strategies God built into His Creation is Sabbath. His plan and command is for all of us to take one day in seven to rest from our normal labors. Research reveals that when we do, we are blessed with improved mental and physical health as well as improved job performance. Even after the labor curse of Adam’s fall, God continues to extend grace if we’ll receive it.
As we celebrate Labor Day this month, let’s thank God for the gift of work and ask Him to help us do it wisely and well. Blessings, George
