It was not the first time I found myself on the verge of tears as I feverishly racked my brain for anything to mend the horrendous structure (or rather lack of structure) of my paper and failed to think of anything other than the impending list of projects, research, and readings I still needed to get to. I still had an hour left on my shift at the library, but there was nothing I could do to prevent myself from completely breaking down in tears at the circulation desk. Oh the irony. Here I was trying to write about the detrimental effects of workaholism and how we need to lead a more balanced life, and I can not keep it together myself. I think a lot of us can relate to this sort of experience. As Hillsdale students, we all struggle with balancing all our responsibilities every day. There never seems to be enough time for everything we need and want to do. Often, we run around from one task to the next, wondering when, or even if, we will be able to catch a break. James V. Schall, a professor of government at Georgetown University, addresses this struggle for control in life in his book, The Unseriousness of Human Affairs. He advocates for the importance of such activities such as teaching, writing, playing, believing, lecturing, philosophizing, singing, dancing, which some might call unnecessary, but it is this very lack of necessity which he claims is the best thing about us as humans. Schall writes, “It is true that we have to work to have leisure. But it is also true that until we recognize the limits of work, we will think that work is our human destiny.” If we can find a way to reorient the way we approach our work to feed us spiritually as well as to provide for our material needs, then we can live more fulfilling lives.
Today, especially in America, we are wrapped up in the cult of work that skews our priorities and leads us to overburden ourselves with worldly cares. This is perhaps particularly true of Hillsdale students. In college, many of us pride ourselves with how intensely we pack our schedules with classes, work shifts, and extracurricular activities. In such a rigorous community, we feel the pressure to achieve and add to our resume. We feel unaccomplished if we are not at least as busy as those around us. Renowned philosopher Josef Pieper describes us as “[men] who [are] fettered to the process of work,” and we have enslaved ourselves by choice. Many of us like to think we are not working for the grades or for the money, but if we were honest with ourselves, how often have we told ourselves that, because of our busyness, we have no time to take a Sabbath, or no time to do our devotions in the morning, or no time to check in on a friend in need? Out in the job world, the American Dream has become an unachievable standard of extravagant living. The opportunity for people to be able to “make their own way” in life has transformed into a burdensome expectation for people to achieve their highest ambitions of wealth and reputation. Philosopher Firmin DeBrabander points out this curious American paradox: “Though the standard of living has risen, and creature comforts are more readily and easily available…people work more, not less.” In addition, overworking also breeds the tendency to turn to sloth during off-times when the burden of responsibility is lifted for a brief while, but we do not know how to truly rest. We feel guilty about frittering away our time scrolling through Instagram reels and binging Netflix. Rather than feeling refreshed, we go back to work with a self-punishing determination to make up for our laziness. This vicious cycle of self-deprivation and self-condemnation only leads to discontent and misery. We Americans like to think we can become rich and successful if only we work hard enough. In reality, we spend our entire lives working towards a future ideal retirement, while remaining discontent with the lives we currently lead. If our work is merely a grind to the weekend every day of our lives, it is a monotonous and dissatisfying way to live. We are not made purely for work; we have a higher calling.
Man is designed to take delight in the pleasures of creation as much as he is called to work and maintain it. The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the purpose of humans perfectly: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” Even if our work itself is glorifying God––and it ought to––it is not complete, because man is a dual creature possessing both body and soul. He must feed both natures if he is to live fully. If we only value work, we are are ignoring the existence of our souls. God calls us to glorify Him in everything we do with our full beings––heart, soul, mind, and strength. We must cultivate our souls in addition to our bodies if we are to live to the fullest potential God has created us for.
From the very beginning, the Sabbath is part of the created order. In Exodus 20:11, we are told, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Observing the Sabbath is an important part of nourishing our souls. It serves as a foretaste of what is to come––a God-given glimpse into eternity. If we spend six out of seven days in the week feeding our bodies, but only one out of seven days feeding our souls, then we need to rethink our priorities. Reserving only one day of the week for the restoration of our souls is not enough, we must find a way to continue to feed our souls throughout the week in our daily tasks.
Our preoccupation with our material needs, our fear of failure, and our desire to be seen as busy, cause us to disregard our spiritual needs; however, we must find a way to reorient our priorities so that we are working, worshiping, and resting as we ought. The problem is that work is too central in our lives, and we tend to place our value and our identity in our work. James V. Schall recognizes this tendency in humans and writes to adjust this perspective that we have of our place and purpose in the world. He writes:
Plato identifies sacrifice, song, and dance, not only with play, but also with what a person should spend most of his life doing. Sacrifice, song, and dance, then, are what we should be doing to honor God in times of peace. That is to say, at peace, we should be about ritual, about what is done that need not be done, about what is beautiful that need not be, about what exists that need not exist at all. This activity is what we should be about.
Schall writes that contrary to what many believe, God did not create humans out of loneliness or lack of fulfillment. He had no need or obligation to create humans, and yet he did out of his own good pleasure. God acted unnecessarily in creating us; therefore, we are meant to do “unnecessary” things too.
At Hillsdale, going to class, writing papers, and doing projects is a daily reality of being a student. Work is a part of life, but we can change how we approach our work. This begins by acknowledging that work is not an ultimate goal; it is only a part of our worship of God as humans and not even the highest part. It has to do with seeing work as less than most important, but rather understanding that it is only part of the things we do as a part of our humanity. If we recognize this, it will help us to work more correctly.
Furthermore, we can remember that the study we are doing is an end in itself––it is good for its own sake, and we would do good to remind each other as well as ourselves. We are not merely memorizing chemical formulae, but witnessing the handiwork of God in the very act of creation. We are not reading Shakespeare to pass Eng 401 and get a job at The Post, but fattening our souls by contemplating human nature. Our concern with our earthly needs, our fear of failure, and our desire to be seen as busy stems from our lack of faith in God’s provision, distrust in His sovereignty, and drawing significance from praise of men rather than wishing to be seen as a good and faithful servant. Matthew 6:25 tells us, “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” What would happen if we studied, read, and wrote papers for the joy of learning rather than in fear of getting a poor grade if we do not?
In writing this, I am not saying that I have figured out all the answers and am living a perfectly well-ordered life. I too am still struggling to put this into practice. In fact, I may or may not have stayed up till 2:11 in the morning to finish this essay. Nevertheless, despite our tendencies to drift away from our true purpose, we ought to strive to better ourselves and encourage each other as we reorient ourselves toward what is eternal and lasting.
Truthfully, I think we can see this struggle as a blessing. We are blessed with the opportunity to pursue a wide array of interests––we can study great philosophical thinkers, read French Romantic poetry in French, sing beautiful church pieces in the choir, join a Chesterton club, watch and discuss Slavic films, act in a Shakespeare play, intern with the Academy, participate in serving the community, play competitive soccer, etc. etc. etc. We have so many good options to pursue.
However, we must learn to prioritize what is more important in order to live more fulfilling lives. Once we graduate college, we will step out into the adult world, where this same struggle will follow us in whatever we do––this struggle about work and its place in our lives. We will say we work just enough to support our family, just enough to eat out on weekends, just enough to travel during summers, just enough and then we will be satisfied— but we never will. We can never satisfy our ever growing appetite for more “stuff.” As a result, we will enslave ourselves to our jobs for the sake of a future end when we could be leading less strenuous work lives now and allowing ourselves more time to pursue more fulfilling activities. Let us take care not to fall into this trap. Let us reevaluate our priorities in life, reminding ourselves and each other that we are creatures made in the image of God, called to a higher purpose beyond this life, and we must live in light of this truth. It means that we go to church, that we invest in our relationships, that we take time occasionally to sing and dance. It does not mean that we do not work, but that we keep work sub-ultimate. We are creatures of eternity created out of God’s good pleasure to glorify and enjoy him forever. As Schall writes that “this ‘not-needing-to-exist’ is rather the best thing about us” because “it implies that we exist because of a choice, a love, a freedom grounded in what is beyond necessity. It implies that our lives should reflect this non-necessity, this freedom to be recipients of goods and graces of which we are not the cause.” May we reflect the unmerited grace of God in the way we work, rest, and pray each day of our lives.
Kiri Forrester is a junior studying Art and English.
Hillsdale Forum 