What is the purpose of work...?

[JoesApprentice]

Hello everyone,

I just had a question regarding work as it pertains to man’s vocation to fatherhood. It seems as though work is an integral part of a Christian man’s vocation to fatherhood, primarily because of the duty of providing materially for his family.

Beyond providing for one’s family, is there any other purpose for work? If a man could get a decent paying job, enough to comfortably support his family, is that it? I mean is that all that work is meant to achieve? A pay cheque at the end of the month?

In a typical 40 hour week job, a man spends more time working than with his own family. Is there perhaps more to it than just showing up, executing tasks, getting paid and going home?

Lastly, how would entrepreneurship fit into all of this?

Thanks for your time.

 

[buffalo]

2427 Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.210 Hence work is a duty: "If any one will not work, let him not eat."211 Work honors the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him. It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work212 in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.213 Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.
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2428 In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature. The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and its beneficiary. Work is for man, not man for work.214

Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family, and of serving the human community.

 

[Garyjohn2]

Here’s a spiritual poet’s response to your inquiry:

** On Work**
by: Kahlil Gibran

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons,
and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection,
even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy,
even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead
are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."
But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

 

[Trishie]

ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/jp2labor.htm

Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) Pope John Paul II

 

[cmscms]

OK, this may not be exactly the way it is, but I do think these are ideals to strive for and why there is more to work than a pay check

• learning to be responsible and not lazy
• providing services to fellow human beings eg construction workers build homes for people,
• socializing with people and learning to co-operate
• feeling a sense of accomplishment

I am sure others could easily add to the list

CM

 

[Baelor]

It seems as though work is an integral part of a Christian man’s vocation to fatherhood, primarily because of the duty of providing materially for his family.

Perhaps I will be torn apart, but may I suggest that it is the duty of the parents collectively to provide materially for the family. As a matter of convenience and biology, the dominant wage-earner tends to be the male, but I have not found any definitive teaching that dictates that this be the male – if anyone has one, please post!

Anyway, I think there is something to be said for a career that employs your talents. Someone who is intellectually curious may thrive best in a career that encourages this, thereby bettering their person, while someone who is an expert woodworker may find a relevant job fulfilling. This is certainly a luxury that is not necessarily available to all, especially in this job market, but the actual substance of the work in my view is worth considering. This seems inevitable given the diversity of careers available to us.

 

[AllSeasons]

I have pondered this question many times myself. I consider myself to be the ambitious type, but sometimes, the reason for being so ambitious is not too clear. I will share my thoughts by addressing each set of your questions.

Beyond providing for one’s family, is there any other purpose for work? If a man could get a decent paying job, enough to comfortably support his family, is that it? I mean is that all that work is meant to achieve? A pay cheque at the end of the month?

To me, a job is not just a paycheck. I don’t think job; I think career. As children of God, we are each given a set of skills that we can use to benefit mankind. I would like to think that the career I choose to be in has some positive effect on society at large, however small it may be. Choosing the vocation of marriage does not and should not preclude you from being a contributor to society and progress.

In a typical 40 hour week job, a man spends more time working than with his own family. Is there perhaps more to it than just showing up, executing tasks, getting paid and going home?

That’s the difference between a job and a career. Of course, should I get married, I would want to spend time with my future family. However, I would expect to also get enjoyment from work. That said, whether that enjoyment will actually materialize is anybody’s guess.

Lastly, how would entrepreneurship fit into all of this?

Entrepreneurship is a tricky business. 99% of entrepreneurial ventures fail, but in order to have a chance at succeeding, you will have to devote 150% of your time to it, which does not leave a lot of time for your family. That said, the enjoyment you get from starting and growing a successful company can be tremendous. Having a successful start-up and a successful marriage at the same time can be very tough, and would require a very understanding wife or husband.

 

[JoesApprentice]

Thanks for your replies. So here’s a hypothetical question for you. Say you had to choose between the following:

1. Get a good job, good pay, great work culture
2. Be an entrepreneur and try to make it with a product

Assume in both cases you’d make about the same amount of money, steady paycheck, steady hours 9-5.

What would you choose and why?

 

[Luna_Lovecraft]

Thanks for your replies. So here’s a hypothetical question for you. Say you had to choose between the following:

1. Get a good job, good pay, great work culture
2. Be an entrepreneur and try to make it with a product

Assume in both cases you’d make about the same amount of money, steady paycheck, steady hours 9-5.

What would you choose and why?

False choice, my friend. Entrepreneurs hawking a product or service almost by definition don’t have steady paychecks or regular, 9-5 hours. Ask anyone who owns a restaurant, real estate agency, or any small business.

The ability to accept and live with financial risk the one hallmark of a good entrepreneur, which is why I am not one.

Luna

 

[familyof4]

Thanks for your replies. So here’s a hypothetical question for you. Say you had to choose between the following:

1. Get a good job, good pay, great work culture
2. Be an entrepreneur and try to make it with a product

Assume in both cases you’d make about the same amount of money, steady paycheck, steady hours 9-5.

What would you choose and why?

I have yet to meet an entrepreneur or small business owner who worked 9-5.

I think that each person needs to weigh their personal needs and their family’s needs in order to find the right job. A doctor works tons of hours each week, but is hopefully making the world a better place by healing the sick. A scientist working on a cure for cancer might work 60+ hours a week, but again, the payoff may be tremendous. But, what of a business man who works 60 hours a week because they want to be a millionaire? What if they can make 50k/year working 40 hours a week?

The family of each of these people suffers they same (in that they are deprived of their loved one), but are the first two acceptable since they’re working extra hours for a greater good?

 

[Tenofovir]

I have yet to meet an entrepreneur or small business owner who worked 9-5.

I think that each person needs to weigh their personal needs and their family’s needs in order to find the right job. A doctor works tons of hours each week, but is hopefully making the world a better place by healing the sick. A scientist working on a cure for cancer might work 60+ hours a week, but again, the payoff may be tremendous. But, what of a business man who works 60 hours a week because they want to be a millionaire? What if they can make 50k/year working 40 hours a week?

The family of each of these people suffers they same (in that they are deprived of their loved one), but are the first two acceptable since they’re working extra hours for a greater good?

Both the doctor and the scientist require a healthy economy to succeed. The scientist probably works for a company (such as a drug company or a medical prosthetics company) or is dependent on funding from the state or private sector. The state gets all of its money from taxes which come from those who generate taxes by manufacturing things for export or local consumption and employing people who likewise pay taxes and don’t have to rely on government’s dole handouts. The same with the doc. The doc uses expensive drugs, prosthetics and equipment to treat the patient who must be able to afford somehow to pay for these things (he must earn to pay insurance premiums).

The businessman generates wealth so that these two people can operate. In the USSR both science and medicine fell apart because the economy tanked because everyone earned more or less the same (unless you were a higher up party official) and did not really need to work harder or show initiative. People got by with the bare minimum and blamed others for their own faults. The businessman is important. I would however say that he should spend enough time with his family.