Work Matters
News headlines are beginning to appear of significant job losses, and the prospect of many more to come across our nation. Some people may never return to work after their months of furlough. The UK is likely to experience a tough recession before we bounce back from the effects of COVID19.
This will have a negative impact not just on people’s pay, but on people’s self-esteem and sense of purpose. We all remember the struggles of our South Yorkshire mining communities who have felt the long-term impact of unemployment.
In general, work is a good thing. It offers structured purpose, a sense of community and often tremendous satisfaction and fulfilment. However hard our local key workers may have found the past few months at work, I doubt many would swap it for unemployment.
People are designed to work in useful occupation: paid or otherwise. So when that is threatened, we must watch out for each other or the fabric of society begins to weaken.
As a Christian I draw inspiration from the Bible. You and I are made in the image of God. God works. In Genesis God creates the universe, then takes a rest from His work to build relationship with people. Soon afterward, the role of work is given to humans.
The bible depicts the everyday ups and downs of people in a huge range of occupations, from midwives, judges, craftspeople, civil servants, soldiers, shipbuilders, the contribution of the retired, stay-at-home parents and more. It is also concerned with the plight of slaves and beggars. Social care is of high priority. An ethnic-group are delivered from slavery, as a baby Jesus has to be protected from state sanctioned genocide. Prophets denounce exploitative working practices. The bible calls for society to make daily provisions for widows, orphans and the destitute.
Work matters to God. How our society looks after each other in times of trial and hardship matters too. We may not be able to prevent hardship coming, but we can always show kindness. We can help people to rebuild, reskill, re-imagine their futures. Let Sheffield be a positive city of enterprise and community care in the times to come.