Part 1

Work was a gift given before the fall. Work, at its best, emulates the Creation story. One of the consequences of the fall from Paradise was that work was cursed and turned into toil. But through Jesus’ work on the cross, man’s work can be redeemed, because Jesus broke the curse from the fall in every way. But, this redemption is not automatic… yet. One must orient their work to align properly with Christ for this new work to be instantiated. “Apart from me you can do nothing”(John 15). There are degrees of how this plays out for the individual, as it is not always black and white. Sometimes work is cursed, and sometimes it is not. The times it is not cursed is worth paying attention to,  it means you are getting closer to true meaningful work. The type of work that gets you out of bed in the morning with excitement. Work cultivates beauty or order – or both, and the three main types are creative, caretaking, and spiritual work. 

Creative work involves the creation of something original that was not previously in existence. Think inventions, art, writing, or carpentry. If we did not make things then we would starve, freeze, or be eaten by predators — in short, we would die. Even art is necessary for survival and a uniquely human endeavor that is done for its own sake. It is primordial going back to humans who lived in caves. And, it pervades across all cultures universally. There is an element of the transcendent in good art. It pulls you up with it to a higher form of consciousness in pursuit of beauty. That is what creative work has the potential to do. 

Caretaking work involves bringing order into already existent domains. Think law enforcement, farming, administrative work. This type is needed to hold society together because the natural course of our world is entropy. Caretaking work fends off this entropy. While creative work brings order out of chaos. 

The third category is spiritual work, and it is foundational to the community, separate from the other types. The creative and caretaking should sustain the spiritual as its fruits are invisible and delayed. Without this spiritual priority people fall into worshipping the work of their own hands as demonstrated in Exodus with the golden calf. In the book of Numbers, God chooses the tribe of Levi to handle the priestly work involving the temple and sacrifice, because they did not go along with the idolatry. Their work required intense dedication and they were supported by both donations and talents of the common citizen to construct the tabernacle (Jewish temple). And, to provide living expenses for the set apart Levites, as they did not work the land. This pattern is echoed in the tradition of cathedrals and orthodox churches. Time, money, or property is given up in service of the divine and the result is beauty. When ordered properly, it is able to unite an entire community. 

There has been a staggering breakdown of this order in the past couple centuries, especially in the West. Churches are now in warehouses and repurposed costcos. There’s a clear disconnect when thousands of denominations exist which exaggerate an “us vs them” mentality. This fractalization of the Church takes away from the togetherness and unity that it was meant to cultivate. 

The other disconnect is people engaging in pseudo-work. This is work that produces neither beauty nor order and should be avoided at all costs. One representation of this type of work would be day trading as a profession. No beauty, no order. It isn’t evil, but it also is not benefiting the greater community by itself. That said, the profits could be given away thoughtfully, but that is giving, and not working. All true work is mentally conceived, and physically manifested. Investing is not physically manifested. Money is a construct and if push comes to shove, you want the mechanic in your apocalypse survivor group, not the social media influencer. 

Realigning is hard, but necessary, both for the singular individual and society as a whole. One person can make a difference, and it is hard to quantify their impact. One act of kindness can change the trajectory of a person’s life, and the lives of whoever they interact with. Similarly, doing your job well, also makes the world slightly less miserable than it could have been.