Work: Gift and obligation

Our work is both a gift from God and an obligation that God has imposed on us. As a gift, our work enables us to support our families, send our children to school, and provide for our daily needs. But we should also view our work as the one gift from God that would enable us to attain eternal life in heaven. In other words, we should view our work as our path to holiness.

Work is an obligation that God has imposed on us from the beginning. It is not an option that we can take or reject. This is revealed in the very first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis: The Lord God formed man out of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it (Gen 2:7:15). The Bible tells us that from the beginning of creation, even while man was still in the Garden of Eden, God intended for him to work — to cultivate the garden and take care of it. Even before the fall of man, even before sin entered the world, God made Adam from the clay of the earth and placed him in the Garden of Eden — not just to enjoy it — but to cultivate and keep it. In other words, God intended for him to work.

The Blessed Josemaria Escriva, in Friends of God, states it very clearly: “We must be convinced, therefore, that work is a magnificent reality and that it has been imposed on us as an inexorable law which, one way or the other, binds everyone, even though some may seek exemption from it. Make no mistake about it. Man’s duty to work is not a consequence of original sin, nor is it just a discovery of modern times. It is an indispensable means that God has entrusted to us here on earth. It is a means to fill our days and make us sharers in God’s creative power. It enables us to earn our living and, at the same time, to reap the fruits of eternal life.”

St. Thomas More is probably the best example of a person who became a great saint through the secular work that he was doing. He was a lawyer. He was an official in the government. He was a practicing professional. Many professionals, particularly lawyers, and government officials, particularly senators, congressmen, and cabinet members, as well as other office workers, can relate to him.

St. Thomas More was born in 1478. He went to Oxford to study and became a member of the bar at a young age of 23 and a member of the British parliament at 26. At 27, he married Jane Colt and they had four children. Five years later, his wife died and within weeks after her death, he married a widow, Alice Middleton, who was four years older than him. At age 33, he wrote his most famous work, Utopia, a satirical account of life on the fictitious island of Utopia where the interests of the individual are subordinate to those of society at large. At 45, Thomas More was made Speaker of the House of Commons. Then at 51, King Henry VIII appointed him Lord Chancellor of England.

When King Henry VIII declared himself the only supreme head of the Church of England so that he can divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, Thomas More resigned as Chancellor. He opposed the king and was imprisoned. He was subsequently beheaded at age 57. His words were: “I am the king’s servant, but God’s first.” His best spiritual work was Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation.

St. Thomas More’s own work was his path to sanctity. He did not enter the religious life. He did not take vows of poverty and chastity. In fact, he was wealthy and twice married. He was a high official in government — a Speaker of the House and then Chancellor or Prime Minister — and possessed great power. He was a family man with children to take care of, just like most of us. But he offered his work to God. His work was his path to holiness.

Since our work is a gift from God, we must value it. We must treat it seriously and give it our best efforts. We must always strive for excellence. We must make our work our daily offering to God. Therefore, we cannot make our work anything short of the best we can offer because God deserves no less from us. 

There is an important message here, particularly in the light of the present government’s efforts to eradicate corruption and promote good governance. If work is a God-given gift and obligation, then there should be no room for dishonesty, corruption and ineptness in our workplace. Like Thomas More, we should be ready to practice and defend the principles dictated by our conscience. 

Dr. Filemon A. Uriarte, Jr. is a member of the International Council of Couples for Christ, former member of the Cabinet as Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology and Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation.