A thought
by John Ortberg (2014-04-22) from his book, Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 163). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to
Amazon.com to buy the book.)
John tells of a study
on this by a research group affiliated with the University of Chicago and they
recently listed the ten least happy jobs in the world and the ten happiest jobs
in the world. He said, “What they found
was the ten least happy jobs actually were more financially lucrative and
offered higher status than the ten happiest jobs. The difference? People in the
happiest jobs had a higher sense of meaning. Less money, less status, but a
higher sense of meaning.”
John tells of a study
on this by a research group affiliated with the University of Chicago and they
recently listed the ten least happy jobs in the world and the ten happiest jobs
in the world. He said, “What they found
was the ten least happy jobs actually were more financially lucrative and
offered higher status than the ten happiest jobs. The difference? People in the
happiest jobs had a higher sense of meaning. Less money, less status, but a
higher sense of meaning.”
He then goes on to say,
“The main thing you bring home from your work is not a paycheck. The main thing
you bring home from work is your soul. Work is a soul function. We’re made to
create value.”
Solomon, the writer of
the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes in the Bible says, “There is nothing better
for a person than that he should make his soul enjoy good in his work. This
too, I see, is from the hand of God.”
I know that we have to
work to survive. We need that paycheck
but we also deserve to be satisfied in what we do. John also says, “A paradox of the soul is
that it is incapable of satisfying itself, but it is also incapable of living
without satisfaction. You were made for soul-satisfaction, but you will only
ever find it in God. The soul craves to be secure. The soul craves to be loved.
The soul craves to be significant, and we find these only in God in a form that
can satisfy us. That’s why the psalmist says to God, ‘Because your love is
better than life . . . my soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.’
Soul and appetite and satisfaction are dominant themes in the Bible — the soul
craves because it is meant for God. ‘My soul, find rest in God.’”
So are you satisfied
or dissatisfied?
Comments
Post a Comment