I heard recently of a retired nurse with a great tagline: “Everyone should have a job they truly hate, so that when they get a job they love they can actually appreciate it.”

America is going through what’s being called the “Great Resignation,” which is partly due to a bad understanding of work.  On one hand are workaholics, enslaved to jobs as a source of meaning and identity. On the other hand are the perpetual adolescents, unwilling to commit to serious labor, and hoping the perfect job will just fall in their laps.

Ironically, both attitudes come from the same wrong idea: treating work as our ultimate source of identity. A Christian view of work is better. Work isn’t something to worship; it is one way we can worship our Creator. It’s a way we give to the world, not just take from it. Seeing work as worship redeems even the most menial, thankless or toilsome jobs. 

As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”