We have probably all been asked the above question at one time or another; if not, we will be some day. Or, if we are already enjoying retirement, the question might be phrased, “So, what did you do for a living?”
Of course we know what the person asking this question is really interested in. They want to know what work we do, or did, to earn our daily bread. They want to understand how we spend nearly one-third of our life, since that is the amount of time, both in years and hours (each week), that most of us spend working.
This very question, and our response to it, reveal the degree to which our secular society has influenced our thinking about life. Many of us have allowed ourselves to be defined by what we do.
However, our careers are not what define our living. Careers are merely what we do to support what matters most in our life; what we may do for a living is not what gives us life.
Again, we understand what is being asked by this question. But by our response, we accept the subtle, underlying premise that what we do for work essentially defines our living.
To be fair, if we were asked a different question, say for example, “What is your life all about?” or, “What are the most important things you do in life?” then our answer might be considerably different.
By way of contrast, if someone were to have asked Jesus Christ what He did for a living, or how He earned His daily bread, it is unlikely He would have said, “I am a carpenter.”
In one particular instance in the Gospel of John, when His disciples wondered about where Jesus may have procured food for a meal, He responded…
My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish His work. (John 4:34)
And He would have added that His work would continue throughout His life; there was no such thing as retirement for Him. After all, He was only following the example set for Him by His Father.
Jesus said, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” (John 5:17)
Jesus was very clear to His followers, and to us, when He explained exactly what work we should be about. It turns out, our priorities in life have been clearly established for us.
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)
This is really what we should all be doing for a living. This is what truly brings life.
The circumstances of our life are, as Shakespeare pointed out, largely theater: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” (As You Like It)
This is not to say that our lives are make believe, or that they are merely a performance. Rather, this theatre perspective emphasizes that the details of our lives are the backdrop before which we are asked to fulfill our greatest role — to become totally transformed by love. The correct way to understand this is that the circumstances of our life are not what give us life, they are the script God has written specifically for us to allow us to grow in love.
There are so many things about our lives in which we have no say. We could not determine the details of our birth, our gender, our skin color, our nationality, or our immediate social or economic status.
And even in those areas of our lives where we can ultimately influence the outcome, like academic achievement or material success, our only desire must be to pursue goals, objectives and accomplishments that allow us to make progress on the road to our individual transformation in love.
None of the accidents of our birth, or the later opportunities for advancement we may pursue, can, in any way, impede our ability to become people of love. The key is to understand love as our sole purpose in life, and then to subordinate everything else to that one thing. Love is the only thing that will live on with us for all eternity.
There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her. (Luke 10:42)
So, the next time someone asks us what we do for a living, we should politely respond to what we know they are asking. But then we might add, “these are merely the circumstances God has placed me in to learn how to love Him and love my neighbor.”
Copyright © 2024, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit:"Christ in the House of Martha and Mary," Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, via WikiArt