There are people who live to work and there are people who work to live. While the first ones do it for pleasure, the second ones do it for necessity. It seems that work satisfaction is related to the possibility to work in areas of gifts, abilities and professional formation, and if that is accomplished professional satisfaction is reached.
However, in a society like ours, where people are valued for what they have and not for who they are and where consumerism is stimulated to the extreme, people are inclined to search for the most lucrative careers rather than the vocational ones. There resides the dilemma: to abandon the professional vocation for financial gain, or to abandon financial gain for professional vocation.
The professional vocation and financial gain rarely coincide, and few can achieve it. The good news however is that if we don’t achieve it, we don’t need to be slaves of the financial system, for the Biblical teaching reveals that the fullness of life is not found in the search for professional realization, but in the search for the Kingdom of God. This doesn’t mean that we should accept substandard labour conditions but that we should long for the best according to the Kingdom’s values.
Christian believers know that more than to work for an employer or for a company, they do it for God, who is their true master and from who they really receive live support, as well as motivation to go on. Therefore, for believers, every day is of profound personal satisfaction because enjoying the grace and mercy of God, they are energized to live engaged in something that has eternal relevance regardless of their earthly job. Believers do not have the dilemma for who to work for, they do it for God!
- Do you live to work or work to live?
- What does your heavenly boss ask of you?
(The search for the Kingdom of God, Matthew 6:33 / The request from the divine boss, Micah 6:8)