Sister Joan Chittister writes of the importance of work, this need to work, to feel fulfilled in our daily tasks, in her insightful sermon, The Spirituality of Work, an excerpt of which is below:

The truth is that the most telling indicator of the spiritual deterioration of the Western world may well be in its modern disregard for work. People work for money now, not for the sake of the work itself. People work so that they can do something other than work as soon as possible.

People work to be employed, not for the sake of creative expression. People work in segmented tasks that have no meaning to them. And so, ironically enough, we have separated work and life. Work is something we do because we have to do it, not something that we want to do because it is in itself fulfilling, meaningful, important to the world around us.

We work hard, yes, but we don’t begin to live until after the workday is over. We work for personal profit now; we do not work for human gain or human expression. It is a sad commentary on creation. But with motives like those, it is possible to do anything of any caliber and never even realize the moral schizophrenia into which we have fallen. We have arrived at the point where people can work in nuclear arms plants and never feel an ounce of concern about the potential effects of their work.

In the interview that follows her sermon, she describes several questions to ask yourself about your work:

1. Am I doing whatever I’m doing the best I can do it?

2. Am I giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage? Am I myself being honest and just?

3. Do I know what my company does, and do I believe in it? Can I make the way I go into that office a ministry?