On Work

Today is Labor Day here in the U.S. and I just wanted to say a few words on the role of work, in a religious sense.

Have we ever stopped to ask ourselves why we work? Sure, we might casually say because we want to eat, but for those who are above the poverty level we work much harder than "just eating" status. Then you might comment that you want nice stuff, but then again we give out so much of our money to things other than nice stuff. Others might find satisfactions in their perspective career, "Hey all those numbers need to be played!" But then having a career will limit us in so many other ways that we just "deal" with. Then comes that final and probably more truthful answer, "Because we want to be remembered for something", or "To pursue my own immortality."

That last reason is where religion comes in and furthermore trumps the reasons before. To work for religious reasons is grander than all those before. To give glory to a creator will provide all one needs and devote oneself to the immortal. Of course working in such a manner requires all the good moral since that labor movements have campaigned. Fair working conditions, living wages and all that. But think about it, how does your job contend with your thoughts of an afterlife or with any transcendental entity?