THE PURPOSE OF WORK

God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Likewise, God commanded the Israelites to work for six days and rest on the seventh day. God commanded rest and we must take it because it is good for us, but the import of this is that work came before rest. We should not lazy around not working or not working as much as we should, thus not deriving the value/blessing we should get from work. How do we handle this on a typical day?

• Get out of bed: You can’t remain on your bed all morning.
• Pray: Start the day with God. You are already working to have a more robust fellowship with God, so approach it with proper work ethics.
• Plan your day: It gives you a sense of purpose.
• Brush your mouth: As simple as this is, it sets you on a path of work.
• Take your bath: It helps you freshen up and reinvigorates you.
• Eat, if you are a breakfast kind of person.
• Then set out to actualize your plans for the day. 

Approach your day and anything you have to do with a work mindset; taking into account the value you hope to derive or give by embarking on such activity. Carry out the items on your to-do list like someone who is truly working. Even if your work for the day is domestic chores, you can still have a to-do list and approach your chores as work because it is. I suppose that’s how people who say they work 18 hours a day go about their work. They are taking every item on their list with seriousness, even the hangouts. If the activity though recreational will not bring or give tangible value, they drop it.

A lot of people are actually working for lengthy hours, but they do not know that they are working or fail to approach their activities with a work mentality or work ethics. For instance, they babysit, hang out with friends etc but do so without purpose and attitude to work. For instance, you can hang out with a goal to bond or build stronger and healthier relationships, not just for the fun of it. In doing so, you are having fun but you are working at something. Who says work cannot be fun or that you can’t have fun working? You are giving and/or getting value as well as making something meaningful happen. The mindset that work has to be tedious or laborious and some kind of punishment or strain is a faulty mindset. This is probably responsible for treating some work casually because they are not laborious. I get paid by my employer though most of the things I do comes naturally to me and I don’t seem to bat an eyelid to do them.  However, as I evaluated my work, I saw the huge role my “hobbies” are playing in my work environment.

 A certain janitor working for a cyberspace company was once asked the kind of work she does and her response was outstanding: I contribute to sending people to space. This speaks volume of her work mentality and sense of purpose. She is contributing to a hygienic and neat work environment for other personnel to work effectively. The security man by the gate is contributing, no unwarranted visitor burps in to disrupt work because somebody is working manning the gate. Do not take your work for granted especially if you don’t have formal education. Each member of staff in the work environment is a contributor whether CEO or Janitor.

Undoubtedly, some work is not laborious but that’s what it is work! I think that if everyone finds their places and does what they enjoy doing or what they should do, everyone will have fun working. For instance, I drive to work myself but if I have my way, I will park my car and join somebody to work every day instead of driving. However, I have to drive because I take my child to school, get some groceries on my way back home and it’s more comfortable to have control of your time. Nonetheless, I am not going to apply to drive even the Governor no matter how lucrative it is because driving is not my fixation. However, I know a man in my workplace that drives for the company. He loves to drive and even looks forward to driving. We have traveled several times across Nigeria and sometimes in quick successions, but he enjoys doing it. During one of our very long trips, I offered to drive a while because I felt he should be exhausted to covering such a large distance, but he refused. Over time, the company assigned him to someone who doesn’t travel, he felt like he was serving a jail term not traveling. He likes to travel, he loves to drive, and that is his fixation. Driving is laborious to me but fun to him. His job is his hobby, so he is enjoying work. I have also been driven by people who don’t like to drive but they were employed as drivers. The difference is quite appreciable.

Work, therefore is not something that is necessarily laborious but something you do to give and/or get value. Usually, value does not always have to be monetary. Money is indeed a form of value but value is not always money. Value could be healthier relationships with family, friends and associates, good health, knowledge, etc. Conclusively, God saw that His work was good after each day’s work and on completion of His work; He saw that all He created was good. Therefore, do your daily job/work with the right mindset, giving or deriving the consequent value.