At the Intersection

This week we celebrated Labor Day, a tradition that goes back more than 100 years. (Click here to read more about the history of this day.)  Work holds an interesting place in our lives today.  A generation ago, work was interwoven into your identity.  You were a doctor or lawyer or pastor.  Your job said a great deal about yourself.  Work offered you a pay check and, hopefully, a pathway to retirement.  But today, that story feels like a fairy tale of an age gone by.  Many today work without benefits.  Many today work for wages that cannot sustain the costs of housing, food, and raising a child.  What is the place of work?

For those of us in the Protestant tradition, work has an interesting place.  Some Protestant theology suggests that if you are successful at work, it is a sign of God's blessing or providence.  That theology, now often called Prosperity Gospel, is no longer preached in many mainline churches.  Yet the ripple effects are still felt; and waves of such understanding are still part of several churches today.  

We find ourselves in a tense place with work.  We pay unimaginable amounts of money to people who can throw a ball in a particular fashion.  People live in homes that could have there own zip codes.  Yet, recent attempts to raise minimum wage have been met with fear and resistance, it is not likely to gain much traction, even after the election in November.  On top of that, the nature of work has shifted.  No longer do we want our job to be the only, or most important, part of who we are.  If you hang out with people under thirty, most interesting question is not, "So what do you do?"  Rather, we want to know what people are passionate about.   Yet, the reality is that many cannot pay the bills with what they are passionate about.  So, instead, many end up working for a paycheck.

This is not that uncommon.  I am sure there are many of our grandparents who would have preferred to not be a farmer or a factory worker, but that is what their dad did.  Many women who went to work during WW2 did not want to give up their job, but societal pressure was strong....Rosie the riveter had to let go of the tools and move to the newly constructed suburban, to live the "good life".  Before, we all start complaining too much or saying, "Woe is us", work has always brought positives and negatives.

Do you/or did you enjoy your work?  What about your co-workers?

If not, where do you allow what makes you feel fully alive find expression?

Work is important.  Our Protestant reformation has always affirmed the role of work in our lives.  Some say that even in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, had to tend the garden.  Work was not a punishment east of Eden, but a part of our life from the beginning.  Yet, work can be consuming.  Work can capture more of our energy than we'd like.  We work from home more easily now than ever (it is actually where I post to my blog!)  We can work practically anywhere...so we do.

The problem is that most issues surrounding work are so divisive (like the positives and drawbacks to unions, whether we can afford a raise in minimum wage, what benefits should employers provide) that people quickly pick a side and refuse to admit that there is a lot of room for compromise and common ground (perhaps two words rarely heard in any legislative body across our country).

So, maybe the church needs to be the new public square of reasonable, thoughtful, loving listening.  Maybe church needs to be the new common ground place for us to acknowledge that moving side to side going no where is only leaving us dizzy!  I am not sure exactly what that looks like.  But this Labor Day, I think I need and hunger for more than just another grilled hamburger.

May there be a trace of God's grace guiding us as a people to start talking about the role of work in all our lives.

Blessings ~