Your Work is a Gift

Work sometimes has a bad reputation in our world. But there is something worse than work, and that is boredom. At least that is what Drs. Kathryn Rost and G. Richard Smith of the University of Arkansas say. After analyzing the mental health of heart attack survivors, they concluded that one factor which greatly reduced the chances of depression was going back to work.

And why not? At work we are often around friends, and people with strong relationships will almost always fare better mentally. But we humans also need to be useful and productive!

Arthur Kroeger wrote in Quote magazine (August 1994) that his brother sometimes visited an Anabaptist colony in southern Alberta, Canada. During one visit he asked leaders how they dealt with the problem of misbehavior - when people rebelled against the colony's strict rules. He was told that these people were first asked to correct their behavior. If they did not respond, they would be given a stern "talking to."

"But what do you do when all else fails, when somebody stubbornly refuses to behave?" he pressed.

"Ah," came the reply, "if it comes to that, then we don't give him anything to do."

The ultimate punishment - don't give them any work! If that doesn't sound so bad, just ask those who are unemployed how they feel about not working....

It has been wisely said, "The Lord didn't burden us with work, but rather blessed us with it." We need to be busy and productive.

Whatever it is you do to make a living - be grateful. Those long hours and that feeling of exhaustion at the end of the day come from having something useful to do. Your work is a gift. You are blessed.

This reading is found in Steve Goodier's popular book
A LIFE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
60-Second Readings That Truly Matter

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Steve Goodier holds a B.A. in anthropology and sociology (New Mexico State University) and an M.Div. degree from Emory University. He is the author of numerous books about personal development, motivation, inspiration, and making needed life changes. For more on his books please go to http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/books.html

He is the founder and publisher of Your Life Support System, an e-zine with 75,000 subscribers since 1999. Through this daily e-mail newsletter, he sends out hope and encouragement to a worldwide community of readers. To sign up FREE, please go to http://www.lifesupportsystem.com