Here’s a telling poem about suburbia by Andrew Swansson. I found it tonight on his blog The Soap Box Truth:

Andrew Swansson
© 2010

According to research by the Conference Board, 45 percent of Americans are unhappy with their jobs—the worst percentage in twenty years. Some report their daily commute being the best time of day. Is it me or is that depressing? Of course there’s concern for what this means for the economy, but there’s deeper concerns for our society too.

So what’ s a Christian approach to work? Growing up, my parents taught me the importance of a good work ethic—do your best, go above and beyond, be honest, be loyal, etc. But I never recall hearing a “theology of work” or how to think Christianly about work. It may seem obvious for those in paid ministry, but what if I am selling paper, or spend my days in a cubicle crunching numbers?

“All work done well and for God’s glory is Christian work.” – Dorothy Sayers

If you’d like to think about this further, I encourage you to visit The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a simple website dedicated to helping followers of Jesus think Christianly about their daily work. For example, read Matthew Alexander’s article, “Secular Work vs. Sacred Work: The Greek Distortion of Work”, where he encourages us to see ALL work as sacred.

I stumbled on David’s Berman’s book Do Good Design: How Designers Can Change the World. I haven’t read it yet, but I like the premise of the book—no matter your profession, no matter your work, you can use your skills to help make a more just society. Berman’s book is primarily for professional designers, but his key question is relevant for any profession: Does your work make the world a better place?

His challenge is very simple. Take the Do Good Pledge, stating you will, 1) Be true to your profession (Ethics); 2) Be true to yourself (Principles); and my favorite, 3) Spend 10% of your professional time helping repair the world (Effort). Check out Berman’s blog and consider making the pledge (even if you’re not a designer).  So far 88,000+ hours have been pledged. It’s a simple idea, but I wonder how much better our world would be if we really took the pledge seriously—from food servers to CEO’s. So what do you think?