This past weekend, I was
searching online for a job that I wished to apply for. I thought
searching applications began on Wednesday, so I wasn't too concerned.
I was also on ye olde internet chat. I noticed that a good friend of
mine was online, so I messaged that person and engaged in pleasant
conversation, while simultaneously opening the web page that I
sought.
To my surprise, the company
from which I desired employment would begin searching applications on
Monday. What did I do? Did I cut short my conversation with her and
focus squarely on the job?
No.
I still worked on applying
to the job, but I wanted to continue the conversation, because this
friend and I are really close, and I wanted to make the time to show
her that I cared enough about her to make the time for her.
That's because people are
my job.
It seems like we're always
sleepwalking. Henry David Thoreau saw this when he decided to live
for a year in Walden Pond. In his iconic narrative of these events,
called Walden, Thoreau said, “[o]ur lives are frittered away
by detail.” I saw this when I took a family trip down to New York
City. The streets were filled with stampedes of somnambulists who are
always locked in their own heads, constantly letting themselves get
frittered away by detail, not bothering to even acknowledge your
presence.
We are always roaming
around, trying to get things done, whether it be at the office or
checking emails on our cell phones when on the bus, or being on the
phone for something business related when sitting at the dinner table
with the family.
It is important to make an
income to support yourself and the people you care about, but one
must keep in mind that the job is only a means to an end, not the end
itself. Anything that you do in your life must come from a place of
compassion.
That is why I chose my
friend over any potential employment. This is because I already am
employed. I am employed by God to make time to listen to the people
that matter to me, and let them know that I care about them. My job,
and your job, is to take up the call of duty and spread love to the
people. It can be something as simple as saying “hello” to a
passerby on the street, or calling an old college friend that you
keep saying that you ought to call, but never do. Go to your kids'
baseball games. Be there to exercise with them and share their
interests.
“Now go and do
likewise.”--Jesus
