Redefining my idea of "meaningful" work

A number of years ago, I joined a church that was very anxious to figure out how to get its members plugged in. One of the first things they did was have new members take a "gifts" survey or test, in an attempt to determine each persons' "spiritual gift'' and then help that person put that gift to use.
It was a noble idea, one that many churches were trying to execute during that particular time period in an effort to help believers find their place doing God's will.
This was a pretty formal program this church had. I took my survey/test and then met with the associate pastor in charge of this area, and was told clearly my gift was teaching.
"Unfortunately,'' the pastor told me, "We don't have any need for any more teachers.We have more than we can put to use as it is."
I never was asked to do any teaching at that church - or anything else, for that matter.
So much for my "spiritual gift."

I was thinking about this the other day as I thought through my evolving idea of work.
I do believe that God created us all with certain gifts, and that if we weren't so concerned about making money, we could find the "work" that God created us to do and we'd generally be much happier people. I know doctors and lawyers, in particular, who have told me they hate being doctors or lawyers but they love the lifestyle those professions afford them to have. And we've all known somebody who does something "simple" but is as happy as a millionaire because they love what they do and have learned to live on what they make.
I have always told my own children: find an occupation you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
I am fortunate in that I've always loved what I've done. Not every minute, and not every boss or every company that I've worked for; but I can say that I've always enjoyed the heart of whatever it is I'm doing, and very rarely have I ever had those days where I dreaded going to work. If anything, I have enjoyed my work so much I find myself on days off looking forward to going back to work. That is a blessing that I do not discount.

However ... I wonder if those messages haven't done our children a disservice. I wonder if we as a culture haven't misled our children into thinking if they don't find "meaning" in what they do, if they don't feel "called" to it, they shouldn't do it.
Like me, you've probably read all the stories from "experts" who say what young people need is to find "meaningful work" - particularly low-income young people. Somehow if we can just plug everyone into the work that brings them a "meaningful experience" then we will be well on our way to ending unemployment and poverty.
It's the same approach we've seen for generations toward education: let's make it "meaningful," which too often when it comes to children we define as "fun" or at least entertaining.
And so the idea of education can mean almost anything - from truly vital, life-saving research to absolutely pointless classes that leave the young people who take them filled with an inflated sense of self-importance or anger over some perceived wrong or a sense of entitlement. What so many of those classes don't do is promote skills to enable young people earn a living or gain any realistic understanding of what is expected of being a citizen in a free and healthy society.

To put it simply, sometimes work is "work." Just as sometimes education requires tedium and boring repetition, sometimes work requires doing things simply because those things need to be done. Sometimes people have to take on jobs they don't particularly enjoy and learn to find meaning and pride in just being able to provide for their family, to feed and clothe and educate their children, whether or not the work they do is, in itself, enjoyable or meaningful or fulfilling.
I mean, really - does anyone find fulfillment in the act of cleaning bed pans or cleaning septic tanks or any number of jobs like that? Not that they might not take pride in doing those jobs well or take pride in the service those jobs perform, but is there real joy in the actual act?
       
What is "meaningful work"? The Puritan or Protestant work ethic said you worked not for money or for your own prestige but for the glory of God. That meant whatever you did, you did "as unto the Lord,'' meaning as if you were doing it for God Himself.
Therefore, it wasn't about finding the job you were particularly gifted to do or the job that brought you the most personal fulfillment; it was about doing whatever you did to the best of your ability as a way to honor God.
And of course sometimes you found the "gift" to be able to do that job well, or you learned to find meaning in the task.

There are jobs that we'd call "menial'' - low-paying jobs that very few aspire to do for the rest of their lives. But the fact is, those jobs need to be done. Maybe they don't pay anything more than minimum wage (which, in truth, means the only reason your employer is paying that much is because the law won't let him play any less), but in a free market the people paying salaries out of their own money (as opposed to tax payers' money) will only pay what they need to pay to get the job done. As the skill required to do the job well inceases, so does - generally - the pay.
If you don't have the skills to take on something more than a minimum-wage job, you have two choices: don't work and live as parasites off the system, or take the jobs you are qualified for - flipping hamburgers or busing tables or making deliveries  - until you gain enough experience or impress someone enough to move up the work-force ladder.
I read an economic study from, I believe, Stanford that over a period of time followed people who started in minimum or low-paying jobs and found most of those people consistently moved from one income bracket to another, usually within a year. In other words, people who started with a minimum-wage job on New Year's Day were seldom still in that same job the following Christmas because they had learned new skills or gained experience necessary to move to a better (higher-paying) job.

I fear that telling people they need to find meaningful work that provides self-fulfillment is more likely to create a dissatisfied class of people who remain idle while waiting to find that perfect job that probably doesn't exist.

That brings me back to that church that told me while they had determined I had a certain "spiritual gift,'' they didn't currently have any use for my  particular gift.
I think rather than spending so much time trying to find what people are good at, we should encourage people to find something that needs to be done and start doing it, believing that eventually God will either surprise them by equipping them to do that job well (and find meaning in it) or they will find themselves moving toward a position that best utilizes their gifts and abilities.
I think that's true whether its the church or the work force. Everyone knows the old saying about the best way to find a job is to have a job. It's true. It's a lot easier to move up in the work force when you are in the work force; just like it's a lot easier to find what God wants you to do when you're already doing something for God.

In other words, sometimes you just need to get a job.
And do it to the best of your ability.

You might be surprised at just how "meaningful'' that job - over time - becomes.