The Tedium of Work?

 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.
(Proverbs 12:14)

Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established.
(Proverbs 16:3)

Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
(Proverbs 18:9)

Do you see a man skilful in his work?
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.
(Proverbs 22:29)

Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.
(Proverbs 24:27)

Years ago, probably in early 2003, I was riding to work on a bus in London. I was working in a school which was much better than the school I’d worked in in the previous year, but I had to admit, I didn’t much enjoy my job. It came to me in a flash that the reason why work can be so uninspiring is because we live in a fallen world. The earth brings forth weeds and briars now, as well as good fruit. And so it is that man has work that brings him satisfaction, and yet at the same time, frustration.
It seems to me that the more we carry out our work in line with God’s will and word, the more our work will prosper and flourish. Here are a couple of ideas that might help you if you’re looking for some work which is more satisfying.

Instant gratification: Most employers only pay their workers once a month, or every 28 days. In Jesus' time, people got paid at the end of the day. Hence the prayer ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ and the parable of the generous landlord, in Matthew 20 shows us that people got hired daily, and paid daily:
“And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’”

    Now money isn’t the only gratification a man may get from his work. I love mowing the lawn, or painting a fence, or even laying waste to thistles, because after the job is done, you can see what you have achieved. Whereas teaching is a slow process, with nothing to show for it at the end of the day. The sooner your work allows you to see you’ve achieved something, the better that job will be. A mother who cooks dinner for her family may find that far more rewarding than a day in the classroom - especially if the family appreciates the food.

2) Reward the productive people, not the sluggard: In my opinion, paying people by the hour is a pretty inefficient way of making them productive. More likely the employee will drag his feet, marking time, because he gets paid more if he is slower. It seems like a lot government employees are like this. There is no value on being swift, because you’ll get paid the same anyway. Better, I think, is paying people for results. Pay the guy picking cherries by the punnet, not by the hour. If he wants to spend all day picking one punnet, he’ll not get paid much, but then he’s not harvested much. Pay the bank cashier by the number of customers he sees in a day. The more he serves, the more he’s paid. Pay people by the ‘job’, not by the hour. Workmen aren’t going to get paid more if a job over-runs, but they may get some free time to themselves, if they work quickly.

3) Manual work trumps head work: We were created with body, soul and spirit. If your body is inactive all day, because you’re in dead-end office job, you’re never going to love your work.

Which is why I’m about to go and slash nettles. Because once I’ve done that for an hour or two, I can see what I’ve done, and my muscles are saying ‘hey, thanks for using us. We’ve been sitting idle too long at the keyboard.’

“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

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Hey, thank you so much for reading my blog. I appreciate that. You could have done anything else. May the Lord bless you today.

The Desires of your Heart

 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.”
(Ecclesiastes 12:1)

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.”
(Matthew 21:28-31)

I was at the Penrith show on Saturday, and I spotted a young child (maybe 3) clinging tightly to a balloon, in the shape of a sausage dog, that her parents had bought her. They looked like they were having fun, and being there with my own children, I could well imagine the conversation leading to the purchase of the balloon. The child, no doubt, had desired it greatly. So, the parents had bought it, and now the child had it in her hands. Her desire gratified, her want no longer present, for what she had wanted, she now had.
And I thought of my father, and how I have become like him. For it was always the case, when I was growing up, that I could never find anything to buy my dad, because he wanted nothing. Already he had most of what he desired, and so it is with me. When I was young, I wanted to be married. When I was young, I wanted to have my own house. When I was young, I wanted to have children.
Now, in my middle age, I no longer desire those things like I used to, because now God - in his characteristic generosity - has given them to me. My wants have long been satisfied. My cup overflows.
And yet…
There is a pleasure in wanting something. Longing for it. I can remember, and I see it in my children, the longing for their birthday to arrive. I no longer have that longing, and I miss it.
There is a real pleasure in desiring something, and waiting for it in an anticipation, and then receiving it.

So I have been thinking about what it is that I desire. What is it that I want, more than anything else? What is it that I want to look forward to?

And it occurs to me that what I want most, more than anything else, is to be praised.

But not just by anyone.

I chatted about this on Saturday with my children around the lunch table. Does it matter who praises you?
Is the praise I receive from my son different from (or have a different value) than the praise I receive from my father, or my friend?
I think there is a difference. An employee wants to be praised by his boss. I suppose civil servants want to receive ‘honours’ from the King, because they are a form of praise.

More than anything, I want to receive God’s praise. I want him to say of me, “Ian Cameron, well, he’s a son of mine. A good son, I am pleased with all he’s done. I am proud of him.” I want God to say that of me to others.

And to me I want him to say, “Well done son, I’m proud of you. You did well when you forgave ‘X’ after what he said. You did well to love ‘Y’ when he treated you so badly. You did well when you provided all that you provided for ‘Z’ because you loved me, and so you loved her.”

While thinking on all these things, I picked up a book I’d read last December. In it the author mentioned the following about ‘desire.’ I must have read this six months ago, but I'd forgotten all about this section. He wrote, “Desire comes from two words. ‘De’ meaning of or from, and ‘sire’ meaning father or progenitor.”
What we desire comes from our father. So if I desire to be bitter towards someone, then its because I am spending time thinking like the father of bitterness. But if I desire to be generous or kind towards someone, then that desire comes from spending time with, and wanting to be like, the father of generosity and kindness.

Well, these are still thoughts in progress, but I don’t want years to come in which I say, ‘I take no pleasure in them.’ I want all my years to be filled with pleasure.
For that to happen I must have my desires fulfilled, and the desire I most want fulfilled is for my Heavenly Father to praise me.
And He will surely praise me for doing his will, but not for not doing it.

And so it becomes easier and more purposeful to love Him with all my heart, strength, soul and mind, and to love my neighbour as myself. Because I know He’ll praise me for that, and His praise is what I desire.
It becomes easier to forgive others, because I know He will praise me for that, even if others don’t.

“Well done son - I’m proud of you.”

When All Men Speak Falsely

“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matt 5:11-12)

My second novel will be out (hopefully) on August 31st. Part of the back 'blurb' is below.

Would you deny the truth for money? Would you say you believed something you didn’t, in order to keep your job?
    In his second adventure, John Harris finds himself coming across men who lose their livelihoods and reputations, because they won’t deny their beliefs and bend the knee to the state’s diktats. Each man has become a persona non grata, an exile in his own country, a fugitive in his home land. Impressed by their simple courage and curious mix of humility and dignity, Harris finds his own resolve challenged as his employer, the University of East Lothian, compels him to take a psychological test. When his friend is institutionalised for having ‘unacceptable beliefs’, Harris is forced to consider:
    Can he rescue his friend? And even if he does, how can he hide him from an all-watching, ever-regulating, ever-controlling state?

 If you'd like to see the book cover, click here.

 God willing, the book launch will be on Sunday August 31st, from 3.00 - 5.00 pm.

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Hey, thanks for reading this post. I really appreciate it. May you have a really great day, blessed in every respect.

Arise and Go to Launceston

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him:
he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
And he called his name Jesus.

    A person of respectability and good standing in society, residing in the town of Plymouth, England, was awakened out of sleep, one night, under strong emotions of mind by a voice sounding in his ear, as he thought, and calling him to “Arise, and go to Launceston.” Launceston is an ancient town in Cornwall, about twenty-two miles from Plymouth.
Having no acquaintance in the place, nor any known business that would take him there, he treated the occurrence as the effect of a dream, and again composed himself to sleep. In a very short time he was awakened under stronger feelings by a similar command, which he still treated with neglect, though more reluctantly than before; and after falling asleep, was a third time aroused under sensations which admitted of no further postponement. He therefore arose and mentioned the singular occurrence to his wife, who endeavoured to discourage him from so long a journey at such an hour of the night, and especially as he had no apparent object in going. But his uneasiness was so great, that he was not to be turned aside from his purpose, and saddling his riding horse, set out.
    After proceeding some miles in the chilly darkness, groping his way as best he could, his resolution began to waver, and he reasoned with himself on the folly of his undertaking. “Surely,” said he, “I am going on a fool’s errand. I am an entire stranger in Launceston; I have no business there, nor any one on whom I can call.” Under the influence of these cogitations he turned his horse towards home and thought of returning, but had retraced only a few steps when his mind became exceedingly distressed, and the words seemed to sound in his ear, with commanding authority, “Go to Launceston - go to Launceston.” Yielding to this renewed requisition, he resumed his journey, and reached an inn in the town soon after breakfast-time.
    While eating his breakfast, he inquired of the waiter what objects of interest there were in the place. “Oh,” said the waiter, “not many: there is the old castle—people sometimes go to look at that. But now everybody is going to the Court of Assizes which is sitting here. The bell is ringing now, and the court assembling.” After finishing his meal, he inclined to go to the court-house, and found they were trying a man for his life on the charge of burglary. Two witnesses deposed positively that they saw the prisoner in the house at the time of the robbery; and the evidence being conclusive, the judge asked him if he had any defence to make. The poor man was evidently much distressed, and firmly but earnestly asserted his innocence — declared that he was in Plymouth at the time specified by the witness against him, and that there was a gentleman in that town who could prove it if he were here. The judge told him he had heard the evidence against him—that it was full and positive, and that the court could not receive his assertion in the face of such testimony. That if there was any one in Plymouth who could prove him to have been there at the time specified, he ought to have procured his attendance on the trial.
    The prisoner said that he was poor; had been shut up in jail, and had neither the means nor the opportunity to obtain the attendance of witnesses.  That he was an innocent man; that it was hard to die for a crime which he had not committed, and that he had no refuge but to trust in that Being who knew his innocence. His bearing and manner of speaking made an impression on the audience, and attracted more than ordinary attention. The judge said he pitied him, but if he had no testimony to adduce, he must instruct the jury to find a verdict of guilty. The poor man again asserted his innocence; spoke of the gentleman in Plymouth who could exculpate him, and closed by again committing his cause into the Divine hand. The judge made some further remarks about the person of Plymouth, and the desirableness of having him produced, when, as the prisoner glanced his anxious eyes around the crowd of gazing spectators, he suddenly descried the face of the Plymouth gentleman; and calling to the judge, said, “My lord, there he is now!”
    The court requested the prisoner to point him out; the traveller appearing to have no idea that he was the individual alluded to. On facing the bench, he was desired to look on the prisoner at the bar, and say whether he knew him. “No, my lord,” answered the man, “I never saw him before.” This seemed discouraging; but leave being given to the prisoner to ask him some questions, the following interrogatories and replies, in substance, ensued:
    Prisoner: Do you not remember a person calling at your office on the day specified, and asking you to give him employment?
    Answer: I do not remember such a circumstance.
    Prisoner: Do you not recollect his telling you that he had a large family, and was destitute and in great distress?
    Answer: No, I have no such recollection.
    Prisoner: Do you not remember that you gave him some encouragement to hope you might soon be able to employ him, and gave him permission to call on you again?
    Answer: I do not.
    Prisoner: Do you not remember expressing sympathy for his distressed situation, and a desire to help him, and, that you might not overlook his case, making a memorandum of his name, and the date, etc., on a note-book with a red morocco cover?
    Answer: I cannot recall any such circumstance.
    The prisoner seemed distressed at the want of recollection in the witness, and ceased to question him. After a few moments’ silence, the witness remarked, “But I believe I have my note-book in my pocket, and will refer to it, and see if there is any such entry.” On this, he drew from his pocket the little book with the red morocco cover, and turning over the leaves, suddenly paused, and looking towards the bench with a countenance expressive of strong emotion, said, “Why, here it is,—the name, the date, and all about it. It had entirely passed from my memory.”
    The excitement through-out the court-room had been increasing in intensity during the questioning, and now seemed at its height. The judge examined the memorandum-book, and by comparing the date with the time at which it was proved the burglary had been committed, it was obvious the prisoner could not have been there, and consequently could not have been the robber. The judge was so fully satisfied of his innocence, that he directed the jury to find a verdict of acquittal, and thus the life of an innocent man was spared to his needy family…

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Matthew 2 

I don't know if the Launceston story is true, it came from a reliable source, but I can't verify it. But taking the gospel to be gospel truth, the Launceston story is plausible. All of which leads me to conclude, we should pay attention to our dreams. The Lord is often trying to catch our attention while we're asleep. We're just too busy the rest of the time.