What is work but something of value?

Moving about in the workforce, you get a chance to see varying levels of the work ethic.Some folks seem allergic to going to work. They attempt to avoid it. Sometimes they are successful in running from work, but sometimes work finds them despite their best attempts to hide.Like Mark Twain said, "work is a necessary evil to be avoided."Other people have no problem working. They realize the value of work to the human condition.It's amazing each time we interview a prospective employee how many of them seem to have the attitude that a job is punishment.The O.T. Book of Proverbs says much about diligence and laziness.Have you ever thought what you would do if you won the lottery? (Of course, you have to play it first).I wonder if, after a few years of leisure, I would eventually feel somewhat empty, useless or meaningless without a job of some sort.The trick seems to be to find what you love to do, are skillful at doing and can get paid to do. If your job meets these three criteria then you have more than a job. You have a calling.Somebody once said something to the effect that work isn't work unless you'd rather be doing something else.Last time I checked, the dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.So it is best to keep at work, even if you are looking for another job or pursuing a different calling.I finally finished my M.A. degree last week. Someone asked me what I was going to do now that I have these two letters after my name.I didn't have a lot of exciting options to tell them. Not yet, at least.Hopefully God will open new doors for me to fulfill His calling.Kahlil Gibran said, "Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy." - Tom Rupp is a former pastor living in Folsom. He can be reached via e-mail at truppfolsom@yahoo.com.