Does it matter?

Admittedly, going to work isn’t always easy. Who wouldn’t rather play or spend time at home. But going to a job that really doesn’t seem to make a difference — to anyone — can be numbing.

In high school, I had a job as a beach security guard. Um. We had a lot of problems. I was basically paid to ogle the girls and work on my tan. I didn’t think at the time that the job had one shred of high calling or purpose.

Some professions are deemed as being extremely gratifying. Many medical professions are those that you can see results – often immediately. Throw in mechanics and construction workers and garbage collectors as jobs that have an immediate and visible impact.

Farming seems to be the purest of all work. It’s basically the wits of man and the wiles of the farmer against nature. Sometimes – when the rains don’t come or the winds blow the seed away or the winter freeze comes a month too early- nature is the enemy.

But when the afternoon thunder showers dust the shoots just pushing through the soil and the August evenings are cool and the May days are warm — nature is your friend. And best of all, when harvest comes, you see results.

By the farmer’s hands and his efforts and his toil are the fruits evident. To pick up a potato or a piece of corn or slice into a steak and to say, “by God’s grace and my efforts, my family and I will now enjoy the end result of my labor,” has got to be the most gratifying of all things.

Does your job make a difference? Or are you in a profession that doesn’t seem to matter? Share with us your experience. Click here to comment.