The Work Under the Work.
“The Work Under the Work” are the exhausting and flawed motivations we carry to work. Whether it’s finding self-value or productivity or getting a thicc paycheck, in the end it leads to disappointment.
Do we let our work control us to such a degree that we don’t even notice when God comes through with a new opportunity?
So what is my motivation? What powers my work?
The Gospel replaces the story that animates our work, it alters our conception of what work is, and it reorients the ethical compass we use for work.
The Power of True Passion
Acedia = kinda laziness but not really…
Acedia is the sin which believes in nothing, cares for nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and only remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die. Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos?
Acedia is the most subtle idolatry of all. It puts the cynical self at the center of your life. And when you do that you release all the worst vices and sins to be the main animating energies behind your work.
The very definition of passion — think of Christ’s Passion, is to sacrifice your freedom for someone else.
The opposite of Acedia is to become a living sacrifice:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord Romans 12:11
Zeal = urgency + diligence
When you see Jesus suffer and sacrifice for you, when his passion is burned into your imagination, it will become very clear whether the things you are passionate about are just forms of the other size deadly sins.
You are loved ceaselessly, so you can work tirelessly in response to a quiet inner fullness.
The Power of Deep Rest
Your own heart, or our materialistic culture, or an exploitative organization, or all of the above, will be abusing you if you don’t have the ability to be disciplined in your practice of Sabbath. Sabbath is therefore a declaration of our freedom.
We are also to think of Sabbath as an act of trust. God appointed the Sabbath to remind us he is working and resting.
It is normally through the sympathy and encouragement of Christian friends that we experience God refreshing us and supporting us in our work.
The Rest Under the Rest
The very definition of a Christian is someone who not only admires Jesus, emulates Jesus, and obeys Jesus, but who “rests in the finished work of Christ” instead of his or her own.
When the work under the work has been satisfied by the Son, all that’s left for us to do is to serve the work we’ve been given by the Father.
Nunc dimittis - I could die happy now. Simeon’s words in Luke 2.
I feel like I am postured to move in the right direction. My specific work, my coworkers, and my community — though imperfect — are positioned for me to be passionate in my work, experience deep rest, all for the purpose of serving God and getting closer to Him. I do feel passion in my line of work, though it may not be constant feeling. Undoubtedly, I feel good at what I do, and I’m thankful for those around me.
Do I have idols? Absolutely. Am I even well rested now? Well, better than usual to be honest, because I’m reading and writing, but typically my “sabbath”, my Saturdays, are not exactly sabbath. But I believe God has given me, and continues to provide for me, grace that contrasts my sin and the brokenness of the world for the sake of communion with Him.