Work Ethic

[aspen]

Americans still have a strong sense that we need to work in order to live and succeed, compared with most countries in the world.

How is the American work ethic found within our spirituality? How does it help/hurt our growth?

 

[bbyrd009]

sure wish these would propagate in New Posts!

yes, our Work Ethic is used against us, and we work for food now

 

[DPMartin]

Americans still have a strong sense that we need to work in order to live and succeed, compared with most countries in the world.

How is the American work ethic found within our spirituality? How does it help/hurt our growth?

other countries have different systems of gov and economics, and work must be available to get wages. Americans are conditioned to want certain things that just aren't available in most other countries. like one's own business, one's own property such as a home, a car that can be afforded. if you have no need for things that don't require your efforts for the rest of your life, then there's no real reason or motivation to work like Americans are required to do.

illegal immigrants work for low wages that Americans can't pay a car payments or mortgages with, and are considered lazy for not working to be poor. but those same wages are sent home by the illegals which is a lot of money where they are from. so what does work got to do with ethics unless you agree to work and don't?

 

[Blessed15]

Well well. I think there are many countries where people have a strong sense to work in order to live. But for some of the countries (through a convergence of factors beyond the common man's control),the opportunities to work are not there. Even in such situations some of the people have taken the initiative to create informal work opportunities through which they are raising families. Also note that in most of these countries there are no notable welfare or social benefit schemes.So I think these people deserve more credit than they usually get.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Americans still have a strong sense that we need to work in order to live and succeed, compared with most countries in the world.

How is the American work ethic found within our spirituality? How does it help/hurt our growth?

I'm not sure how Catholic theologians address the topic, but reformation theologians usually teach that work for men was determined by God with His instructions to Adam in the Garden of Eden. The difficulty associated with agriculture and husbandry was declared as part of the curse for Adam's sin. A modern work ethic is derived from what the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches regarding the relationship between masters and slaves, working as for God rather than as man pleasers, and what he wrote in regard to those who were willing to share bread in the body, but not share work. I believe the scripture is rightly applied in both instances, but an employee/employer relationship is certainly not the same as a master/slave relationship, so I've always supported the labor movement as a means to reduce employer abuses. In a slave economy, masters were obliged to meet all the physical needs of their slaves to preserve them as useful laborers, but employers have no such requirements and exploit laborers to their detriment unless restrained by conscience, law, or organized labor.

 

[Windmillcharge]

The Christian work ethic is double edged in that it applies to the employee and to the employer.
Both have to work for the glory of God, with the employer also having the challenge of being generous to the poor.

Go through leviticos, deuteromony and numbers and fid out how oxen traeding out the grain where not to be muzzled, that harvesters where to leave the edges of a field unreaped, that corn dropped was not to be picked up so the poor could go through the feield and glean some corn etc to feed themselves with.

How should modern buisness put this into practice?

 

[michaelvpardo]

The Christian work ethic is double edged in that it applies to the employee and to the employer.
Both have to work for the glory of God, with the employer also having the challenge of being generous to the poor.

Go through leviticos, deuteromony and numbers and fid out how oxen traeding out the grain where not to be muzzled, that harvesters where to leave the edges of a field unreaped, that corn dropped was not to be picked up so the poor could go through the feield and glean some corn etc to feed themselves with.

How should modern buisness put this into practice?

You can't make non christian business owners apply Christian principles (you can barely get Christian business owners to do that), and you certainly can't get corporations to apply a Christian business ethic. There's no way to do it short of legislation and such legislation would be thrown out as "respecting a religion" at least in the good ol' US of A. God condemns the abuse of laborers, but for the most part those abuses are only answered in judgment. Organized labor has its share of abuses, but has been the only sure way of providing for the needs of laborers and in this does an eternal service for employers ( less things that they can be judged for.) Works for me.

 

[bbyrd009]

Christian business owners

"you cannot serve two masters"

 

[michaelvpardo]

"you cannot serve two masters"

Yet plenty of people try, probably why hate is more common than love in employee/employer relationships.

 

[Angelina]

Americans still have a strong sense that we need to work in order to live and succeed, compared with most countries in the world.

How is the American work ethic found within our spirituality? How does it help/hurt our growth?

One of the qualities I have always admired about most Americans I have met. I think that our countries mindset strives toward a balance between work and recreation, incorporating the two into our life style. There is always going to be positives and negatives in the way that we approach work ethics. Spiritually, it reflects Christ if we are working for him rather than man. It also helps us to provide for our families. Sometimes however, we can be so busy working, we hardly ever see our families and miss out on important events. Then there are times we don't get to that church service or our prayer/bible time gets shortened....I'm sure you know what I mean. Both parents have to work now days. More so than the days when mom stayed home to take care of the household. JM2c.

 

[lforrest]

Imagine leaving your fields fallow one season every 7 years, like the bible commands for farmers. Its inconceivable in this age.

 

[aspen]

One of the qualities I have always admired about most Americans I have met. I think that our countries mindset strives toward a balance between work and recreation, incorporating the two into our life style. There is always going to be positives and negatives in the way that we approach work ethics. Spiritually, it reflects Christ if we are working for him rather than man. It also helps us to provide for our families. Sometimes however, we can be so busy working, we hardly ever see our families and miss out on important events. Then there are times we don't get to that church service or our prayer/bible time gets shortened....I'm sure you know what I mean. Both parents have to work now days. More so than the days when mom stayed home to take care of the household. JM2c.

I like the balanced approach. Benedictine monks live their lives praying, working, resting, and recreating - balance is key to their spirituality.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Imagine leaving your fields fallow one season every 7 years, like the bible commands for farmers. Its inconceivable in this age.

Imagine owning sufficient arable land to support a growing family as a permanent and perpetual inheritance. I think ancient Israel may have been unique in such a property relationship, but I've heard teaching that claimed Israel failed to keep the Sabbath of the land and that the 70 years captivity in Babylon where for 70 Sabbath years not observed. The numbers don't seem to add up, but 490 years prior to the captivity does bring you back to about the end of the time of judges and the 1st king of Israel.

 

[Windmillcharge]

You can't make non christian business owners apply Christian principles (you can barely get Christian business owners to do that), and you certainly can't get corporations to apply a Christian business ethic. There's no way to do it short of legislation and such legislation would be thrown out as "respecting a religion" at least in the good ol' US of A. God condemns the abuse of laborers, but for the most part those abuses are only answered in judgment. Organized labor has its share of abuses, but has been the only sure way of providing for the needs of laborers and in this does an eternal service for employers ( less things that they can be judged for.) Works for me.

There is nothing in my post that applies to non christians.
I mentioned Christian employees and employers.
Taken in context it was all about Christians.

That said if Christrian employers set an example of how to treat their employees it would 'slowly' influence other employers.

 

[bbyrd009]

Imagine leaving your fields fallow one season every 7 years, like the bible commands for farmers. Its inconceivable in this age.

then those who don't do this will pay the price, right

 

[bbyrd009]

I like the balanced approach. Benedictine monks live their lives praying, working, resting, and recreating - balance is key to their spirituality.

yes, and cloistering is the key to their religiosity, i guess. Christ will not be worshipped, and God will not be mocked, even by monks imo

 

[Edna Davidsen]

Americans still have a strong sense that we need to work in order to live and succeed, compared with most countries in the world.

How is the American work ethic found within our spirituality? How does it help/hurt our growth?

Thank you for raising this question.

It's an exciting topic.

Most of the great leaders throughout the American history have been guided by religious ideas, mostly from Christianity, seldom or never from the Jewish or Muslim tradition.

The American work ethic would not exist today without the Christian tradition that was brought to America more than 200 years ago.

How does it help to be Christian at work?

What makes Christianity relevant today is Christianity advocates for thinking of other people before our own needs.

To me, there's something very appealing about that message in these times where the majority is hiding behind earphones and smartphone-screens.

 

[michaelvpardo]

There is nothing in my post that applies to non christians.
I mentioned Christian employees and employers.
Taken in context it was all about Christians.

That said if Christrian employers set an example of how to treat their employees it would 'slowly' influence other employers.

I'm not attacking your stance as I don't see obedience to the Lord as optional, but the OP referred to American work ethic and in the US of A we live in a post Christian culture with even professing Christians openly supporting godless behaviors such as abortion on demand, and sexual relationships outside of marriage.
I realize that some schools of thought teach that Christianity benefits society by a kind of moral infusion, but this is somewhat contradictory to scripture and common experience. Bad company corrupts good morals, and a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. Sin corrupts and corruption spreads like a rotting mold or a leprous infection.
In my own experience, having retired from public employment recently after 25 years with a single agency, my diligence and effort to perform efficiently and effectively on the job didn't inspire my coworkers to greater effort, but instead made me the recipient of my co-workers resentment for "making them look bad," ( and some of these were professing Christians.)

 

[michaelvpardo]

Thank you for raising this

How does it help to be Christian at work?

What makes Christianity relevant today is Christianity advocates for thinking of other people before our own needs.

While experience doesn't determine truth, my experience in the workforce (approximately 48 years) was that applying the principal of working as for God made my employer (or supervisors) happy with my work and garnered respect from them, while making me a subject of derision by coworkers (who still approached me for help when they were unable to perform assigned tasks.) This is generally what the scripture teaches us to expect when we attempt to live godly lives in this age.
While I agree that God saves us for good works, which will manifest largely in helping others needs being met, in the workplace, ministering to the needs of coworkers can sometimes put us at odds with our employers (who pay for our time.) I found in my own experience that my higher level of productivity made time to assist others, which probably lent itself to my employers gain, but they would have found more profit in having larger numbers of more capable or more responsible workers.

 

[Truth]

Americans still have a strong sense that we need to work in order to live and succeed, compared with most countries in the world.

How is the American work ethic found within our spirituality? How does it help/hurt our growth?

The work ethic is THIS!!! It is Scriptural, And it has not changed for thousands of years!!! when a man becomes a Bond Servant to any business, He comes to the Owner and ask's for the Job, and at that point the owner Has to make a decision, weather to Hire this person or not, based on their Background, knowledge from the Community. OK we kinda sell ourselves to an Employer, then we work for them, and if they are a good Master we stay with them, If not we look for better Masters! This is nothing new, I work for rely good people, and because I have a Love for them, I stay, it is not perfect,but rely good compared to all before them, Big business, Corporations where I was just a Number, God said in Six days shall you work, and on the seventh you shall rest. Work is part of life, where I live there is so little to do outside of work, that it is boring.
I love to fish, but try to get a rattle snake to take a lure, LOL, no we are to sustain ourselves, through work, Paul claims that He never depended on those he taught to provided for His well being. Scripture say's that a man that won't work should go hungry, Hunger bring one to work for food! Unfortunately this is kinda in the Past! All rights are God Given, and with them comes God Given Responsibility's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!