Work

Work Philosophically, God is defined as the fullness of activity (Actus Purus). In the Gospel, Christ speaks of the Father and himself like those still working (cf. Johannes 5:17). When asked what a monk is, one of the Desert Fathers answered, “He works because he is still working.” We do not doubt that the work of Christ on earth can be called work. “When I count all the work, the steps that Jesus did for me …” St. Basil and St. However, Johannes Chrysostomus goes further into the past of the world and calls work and the creation of the world itself. Although God said only a word, the word is an eternal activity; it has become the earth, the sea, plants, animals, people. God’s idea realizes the whole world; it is a living work. We ourselves are the work of the calf, that is, activity. The duty to work belongs to our personality; we are what God has done to us and what we ourselves will do. To live is to work with a working God. As preachers say, we are becoming a link in a chain that is slowly drawing the world to God and a lost paradise. Hard work has become a sin. We work in the sweat of our faces (Gen. 3:19). However, the punishment for sin does not work itself, as St. Johannes Chrysostom, but effort, pain, dislike at work. The Christian, who is freed from sin and its consequences, also frees the work of its curse to become a free, joyful construction of his own perfection, an expression of love for God and neighbor again. In spiritual books, the qualities that are to be manifested in a Christian’s work are calculated. It must be according to God’s will. Otherwise, however, it would have no place in the great “liturgy of the world,” where everything moves exactly according to the plans of the one who rules the universe (Theodore of Cyr). It follows that every job in its place is the most important. We can’t deal with anything better at that moment. The principle that sanctified the simple and simple life of St. John Berchmans was: “Do what you have to do!” They asked him what he would do if he knew he would die right after a lunch break with others. He gave a nice answer in the spirit of his principle: “I should talk to others!” Duty in its place is the best act of piety, and therefore a good preparation for death. It is advisable to do everything as if it were the last act in life, to do it consciously, joyfully, persistently, and with a kind of ease and carelessness about tomorrow and another result. After all, the world is ruled by God. Even apparent failures are precious stones in the mosaic of the universe’s image if we work with it.

 God’s Grace and Human Cooperation Modern authors rightly point out that work is an expression of love for people. We cannot give alms all the time. After all, gifts are not a lasting solution to the world’s misery, but rather a momentary relief. But what an act of love a mechanic will do who repairs a car so that nothing happens on the road! What a gift is a timely application to the office! What an act of love is a machine that will not go wrong because it is well done! Often little attention is enough to prevent harm to others. In ancient times they generally hated work, so they had to be served by slaves. This is not entirely correct. Great philosophers like Aristotle, Plotinus, and others know that destruction destroys and that the only path to perfection in action. Man transforms work. But it was from this correct principle that they drew a different conclusion than we are used to today. If we are to grow spirits, we must devote ourselves exclusively to spiritual work, as they have said. The bodily labor enslaves the spirit, attaching it to matter. Therefore, a free man devotes himself to the “free arts,” while the “service work” is left to slaves who still cannot rise to higher perfection. The Jews had a much more positive attitude towards the work of their hands. From the beginning, the Christians were not ashamed of the fact that they were disciples of the “worker,” that they were disciples of fishermen, that the Apostle of the Nations was able to earn a living from the tents so that he would not be burdened by those who proclaimed the word of God. The so-called euchites, who only wanted to pray, rebelled against them and established the principle: “Pray and work!” They meant physical work because spiritual activity was a prayer for them. St. John Chrysostom also opposes the Christian lords to be serviced: “God created your hands and gave them to you; people made slaves!”
 Nevertheless, Christians, even Christians, had to think seriously about ancient philosophers’ fundamental objection.

Physical labor is really tiring, taking time, absorbing the spirit, and tying it to material interests. From this «curse,» however, it is not liberated by a noble phrase or the hope of imaginary progress in humanity’s welfare and happiness. The material works towards the material goal. If she is to become spiritual, it needs to have a spiritual goal to manifest in the spiritual world. The authors deal with this problem: they speak of good intentions, transforming material activity into spiritual value.