Labors of Love

LABORS OF LOVE

“I am planning on being an inventor when I grow up,” said my oldest grandson. “And a firefighter.” Keeping it the family, his younger brother concurred. “I’m being a firefighter, too.” This Nana has no doubt—in the coming years we’ll be well protected and also well supplied with much needed new inventions!

 

From an early age we are asked  “what we want to be when we grow up.” We seem to instinctively know that there will be a work life after we’re done being a kid and we answer the question with occupations we know about, like nurse or doctor or teacher or firefighter.

 

What we don’t know is the labor that will be involved in our future occupation (or even in the amount of work it will take to educate ourselves in order to get to do the job we want to have). As we get older we hope that whatever we will “be” will be something we like to do and something we are really good at doing. For as Aristotle once said, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” The Bible agrees: “So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work because that is their lot.” (Ecclesiastes 3:22)

 

Work is celebrated in the United States the first Monday in September. Known as “Labor Day,” it was first commemorated on a Tuesday—September 5, 1882 in New York City and was created by the labor movement to honor the social and economic achievements of American workers. On June 28, 1894 the US Congress officially adopted the day, making each first September Monday a legal holiday.

 

Originally, Labor Day was to include parades, festivals and speeches, all exhibiting the strength and value of labor organizations. Much of this still occurs, but just as often it is now known as the “last hurrah of summer,” a time when families head out of town one more time before school starts or enjoy a final summertime picnic or party.

 

However Labor Day is celebrated, it’s great when our work is celebrated each and every day we labor, for when we have chosen a job we love, “we never have to work a day in (our) life.” (Confucius). And loving our job has a lot to do with our attitude—whether we try hard, toil hard—and appreciate much.

 

The Apostle Paul gave us all good advice when he wrote, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Colossians 3:23) Labor on!