(5/25/16)
WORK is a "four letter word," literally, but not euphemistically. However, we can be fooled into having a bad attitude towards work.
I happen to be one of those people who loves my work (though I don't love everything about my work). During my lifetime I have had lots of different jobs.
Busboy
Mate on fishing boats
Boat detailer
Newspaper distribution office
Funeral home worker
Ambulance attendant
Soda jerk
Loading dock hand
Landscaping and lawn care
Pipe fitter assistant
Ditch digger
School teacher substitute
Vehicle escort driver
Bekins loader and driver
Not counting the "jobs" I had as a child: grass cutting, perfume manufacturer and distributor, bellboy.
Each job had its advantages and drawbacks. But I never hated the job.
There were times I did not feel well, but I did not resent my job.
There were times things went terribly wrong, but I never had a bad attitude towards the job.
There were times I would rather be doing something else, but I did not become angry with the job.
There were times that I was tempted to react negatively towards my job, but I refused to fall into that trap.
You see, I learned early that the Christan response to the temptation to complain was to praise. Not only has that saved me from being a whiner, it has saved me from the tyranny of dissatisfaction and negativity, which robs you of your joy and obliterates your Christian witness.
Taking a right attitude towards work early in life is important. The longer you go with the wrong attitude, the more bitter and self oriented you become and the harder it will be to replace gloom with joy.
Even if you have the right outlook on work, the devil is going to try to undermine your positivism and sour you, concerning your work. It takes faith to reject Satan's attacks.
It is God's will that we work, and that we do it with joy.
