Around the time my daughter was 3 years old I was cleaning up around the house. I asked if she could put away her hair tie in the drawer. She opened the drawer and put it in. One step ahead of my toddler, I instinctually closed the drawer for her. But this offended her! I seemed to have trespassed on her territory. She pulled the drawer open to shut it for herself.

“This is my work!” she said to me.

Work brings dignity. And looking closely at the little ones around me, they are telling me that too.

Normally, I link these actions to independence, learning, and, sometimes, stubbornness. But when my daughter said “This is my work,” I saw her action in a different light.

What is work? Work can be a 9-5 job with a paycheck every two weeks. Or it can be schoolwork, housework, volunteer work, and sometimes a mix of all of the above.

Work weaves us into our family. It glues us into our community. Work gives us clues to deeper desires in this life. The work that brings us dignity might be the volunteer work we do or the hobby we do with passion, rather than what we are paid to do.

When I say that work brings dignity, I don’t mean that work creates dignity. Dignity is a defining characteristic of our humanity. It’s knit into our makeup. My favorite explanation for dignity is from civil rights activist, John M. Perkins: “You don’t give people dignity. You affirm it.” Finding purpose in our lives and through our work, helps our souls speak the dignity to us that words fall short to translate. In a way, I believe work helps us affirm dignity in ourselves. It can remind us about the deeply instilled dignity that we have already been created with.

What does the Bible say about work? I think back into the book of Genesis and there are a few clues here. The first mention of work was when Adam and God were hanging out in the Garden.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)

A few verses later we see God give Adam a specific task. He brought every bird and animal to him to see what man would call the animals.

“And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19

I love a few things about this. First, it tells us that work is a gift and is a good thing. Work came before Adam and Eve did anything wrong, what we call The Fall. You know, the apple and snake story. Secondly, I love that while God is the ultimate Creator, he calls us to create. We see here that Adam was tasked to name God’s creations.

Work and purpose came before the Fall when it was just Adam and God. Work was good. It’s a gift from God. Just like God gave Adam a specific task to do, I believe He calls each of us to our own work.

As silly as the toddler analogy is, the purpose and cause that my daughter had to put away that hair tie, that drive is in all of us. Work calls something up from within us.

God has given us gifts and talents. There’s something out there that you are built for that makes you fiercely grab at with two hands and hold on because it’s your work. Finding the work we were created to do, even if it doesn’t make income, gives us each a sense of need, purpose, and desire. Just like my daughter’s exclamation, what makes you want to say, “This is my work!”? And whatever work we find in front of us, whether it makes our soul come alive or we dread it, may be know that God has a greater way to do it all. 

What is the work you are called to? What’s the passion that can bring joy to a household, church, or community? Is it the thing that is actually giving you a paycheck? Is it supporting your family with growth and encouragement? Is it that hobby you fight to fit into your schedule?

Maybe you have an answer right now. And maybe you don’t. Both answers are okay. My hope is that you’d know even taking small steps toward finding that work is worth doing. And when we are faced with the challenges of growth and sacrifice, may we always pursue a greater way with perseverance and hope.  

May we all find our work. May we speak dignity over ourselves. May we learn that work is good and work is a gift from God. And may we discover how the dignity in our work brings us closer to our Creator.