LESSON 2
Traffic View:
Identifying the challenges of work
in the modern economy
Welcome to Lesson 2
Let’s get started with a question: What was the dirtiest job you’ve done or the most frustrating experience you’ve had related to work?
The truth is that every job comes with frustrations. Considering the challenges of work in the modern economy will help us on the difficult days, working with difficult people, or being unable to find work. For the majority of human history, and still in many places in the world today, people did not have the freedom to choose their jobs. The freedoms we now enjoy, however, present us with new challenges. How do we know if we are doing the right thing? How do we know if our work is really helping people? How do we know our current job won’t be needed anymore in a few years?
When we think about work, we also have to think about the economy.
“Economy: the process or system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought in a country or region.”
Have you ever thought about how much the work you do can affect the work of others? Sometimes it seems like what we do goes unnoticed or isn’t significant. This video shows how every job, from the most menial to the most exciting, is essential and part of a bigger picture.
Could you make a pencil?
There are several takeaways from this video:
- Every job matters
- The economy is complex
- Our work is impacted by others work and outside forces
So why is work so hard? And why do so many people have a negative view of work?
Read aloud: Genesis 3:14-24
Three questions for reflection on Genesis 3:
1) How does the Fall affect work?
2) Where does our work now take place?
3) What expectations should we have about every kind of work?
What do we see in the rest of the Bible?
Moses and David were asked to take on jobs they were not specifically trained for.
Moses - Exodus 3:9-12, 4:10-17
David - 1 Samuel 16:10-13
Solomon and Saul succeeded at jobs, but did not glorify God in their work.
Solomon - Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Saul - 1 Samuel 18:6-16
Jesus and Paul worked temporary jobs even though God had greater missions for them.
Jesus - Luke 2:39-52, 3:23
Paul - Acts 18:1-4 and 1 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Sometimes life looks different than what we anticipated. But it’s important to remember that God can use us in whatever situation we are in, if we are truly seeking His will for our lives. We have the potential to have an impact even in situations that seem fruitless or menial to us. As it says in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men...”
How can we discern our secondary callings? What if we want to do a variety of things?
“Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? Chances are, you don’t. All
too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more
time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths. To help people uncover their
talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in 2001
which ignited a global conversation and helped millions to discover their top five talents.”
Because we can make choices today about our work, it is important to think about what areas we are gifted in, what we enjoy, and what is available. Knowing that all work has frustrations, we can still make use of contemporary tools that help improve our work.
“A Misguided Maxim – “You can be anything you want to be, if you just try hard enough.” Like most people, I embraced this maxim at a young age. Along with thousands of other kids, I spent a good chunk of my childhood trying to be the next Michael Jordan. Every day, I practiced shooting hoops for three to four hours. I went to basketball camps each summer and tried in every way possible to be a great player. No matter how hard I worked at it, though, becoming an NBA star simply wasn’t in the cards for me. After giving 100% of my effort for more than five years, I couldn’t even make the junior varsity team. Embracing the “You-can-be-anything-you- want-to-be” maxim isn’t something we outgrow. Similar scenarios play out in the workplace every day. A star salesperson thinks she can be a great sales manager with enough effort. She interviews other managers to gain insight, reads every book on management she can find, and stays late every night trying to get the job done – at the expense of her family and even her health. Then, a few years into the job, she realizes that she doesn’t have the natural talent to develop other people. Not only is this a waste of her time, but chances are, should could have increased her contribution even more if she had stayed in the sales role – a role in which she naturally excelled. Yet if we want additional income, status, or responsibility, most organizational hierarchies force us into a very different role – instead of allowing for an entire career of progression within a specific role that fits our talents... This might sound like a heretical point of view, especially for those of us who grew up believing the essential American myth that we could become anything we wanted. Yet it’s clear from Gallup’s research that each person has greater potential for success in specific areas, and the key to human development is building on who you already are... When we’re able to put most of our energy into developing our natural talents, extraordinary room for growth exists. So, a revision to the “You-can-be- anything-you-want-to-be” maxim might be more accurate: You cannot be anything you want to be – but you can be a lot more of who you already are.”
Next lesson...
Normal View
Applying economic wisdom in choosing a college
