Love What You Do

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Genesis 29:20

I remember the days when I woke up, dreading going to work. The job wasn’t the problem. I was. I was miserable no matter what I was doing and I simply wasn’t in a place where I could do my job for the right reasons. I was trapped in my own addiction, sacrificing anything and everything for the drug. I could go to work. I could even do a reasonably good job. I simply couldn’t find joy in the job though because I couldn’t find joy in anything. That’s a dismal way to go to work every day.

Now, in recovery, I do enjoy my time off, but I don’t dread my work. Rather, I quite enjoy my job. It is a very different job than I previously had, but that’s not what’s different. The difference is me. I still have life struggles, but I’m no longer enslaved to my self-destructive addiction. In recovery now, I daily attempt to abandon my way and do my job the way I believe God wants me to do it. When doing my job for the right reasons, I find joy, purpose and meaning, not in feeding my appetite, but in genuinely trying to help others.

When laboring for the right motivation, work can be fulfilling instead of dismal. Jacob discovered this in today’s passage. In the story, Jacob met the woman of his dreams, Rachel, along with her father, Laban. Courting Rachel, Jacob went to work for Laban and the two agreed that Jacob would work for Laban for seven years and then he’d marry Rachel. Jacob put in his seven years, but they seemed to him but a few days because he worked for a purpose that made it worth it. The ease of the work had nothing to do with the job. It was his motivation for doing it that made the difference.

I’ve realized in recovery that I can have two very different days based on my approach to my work. My day can be drudgery, or that same day can be rewarding. It’s the same job, but my day is different based on my attitude about it. If I’m miserable at work, I might need to find a different job, but first, I must ask myself this – Am I doing my job for me? Or am I motivated by a higher purpose? God asks that I love my neighbors, so daily, I must do my job accordingly, finding joy, purpose and meaning in serving those around me. I’ve got to work. I might as well do it right and enjoy it.