Toil

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And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3:17-19 ESV

The verses above paint a pretty bleak picture of work here on earth. It will be difficult, frustrating, and never as fruitful as it could be. In contrast, today’s culture says just find the job you love, and life will be good. So what is it?

We are to seek careers in work that we are skilled at and can use our gifts for. We can, and should, find joy in our work. However, no matter how good your job is, there will always be elements of toil.

Personally, this took many years for me to figure out. When I started my career, I was quite an idealist. I was continually frustrated by things like delayed schedules, pointless meetings, and interpersonally conflicts that occurred time and again, no matter where I was working.

As I have grown in my faith and my career, I now realize that this toil affects all jobs. Yet I have found three positive responses to the toil I face at work that I want to encourage you with.

1. Remember sin’s curse. When we experience toil, it should remind us that we are living in a world that is marred by sin. This reminder should push us to look up and remember that this is not what we are living for.
2. Find our hope elsewhere. If work is our hope, then toil will crush us. When our hope is not based on the up’s and down’s of work, we can maintain a passion for it, without becoming dejected by it.
3. Point others to our hope. When we respond differently to the frustrations of work, others will notice. Rather than joining in the choir of complaint, use the toil as an opportunity to be a light to those you work with.

~ Sean