People are my Job

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