January 7, 2019 (Monday)
Today is “Back to Work” day for many people who have been off work for the holidays. The joys of Christmas and the excitement of a New Year celebration both have come and gone. Vacations and days off are over for now and people are back at their jobs.
Many retired people have discovered that idleness is their enemy. They seem to feel a need to be actively involved in something that gives meaning and purpose. Some folks give up retirement and go back to work. Others find similar activities. The main idea is to stay busy doing something that can be considered an accomplishment of some kind, that furnishes a reason to look forward to the next day.
When we read Genesis, we discover that Adam worked before he fell into sin; work, therefore, was not a penalty for falling into sin. The penalty was the new way he thought of that work. He moved from loving it to disliking it, from thinking of it as a privilege to thinking of it as punishment. Even so, he and his descendants have found work to be both necessary and enjoyable. A person has dignity and feelings of worth when he or she has a sense of accomplishment.
Every so often TCM shows an old movie that slyly presents an old hymn as background music. The hymn: “To the Work.” Title of the movie is “We’re Not Dressing” and leading stars are Big Crosby and Carole Lombard. Made in 1934, the movie tells the story of people who are shipwrecked on an island and, after giving up hope of being found by searchers, realize they must have shelter. Each person or couple begins work on his or her own dwelling. As they work, the hymn is played softly in the background: “To the work, to the work..”
Don’t look for a movie with that song today, dear friend, but 84 years ago the director of that movie took for granted the idea that movie goers would recognize the tune if they paid attention. Times have changed.
Last year about this time I wrote a blog about “To The Work.” Click here if you would like to visit that blog that allows you to hear the hymn again if you like.
Working in some way, even if mainly for pleasure, undergirds virtues such as perseverance, loyalty, duty, honor, faithfulness, adoration, worship, and many other characteristics that ennoble human beings.