Reformer and forefather of much Puritan theology, Martin Luther, in his doctrine of vocation, taught that God gave each individual an occupational “calling.” Man’s vocation was not seen as impersonal and random, but as from a loving and personal God who bestowed each individual with natural talents and desires for a particular occupation. This thought further deepened the Puritan’s sense of purposefulness, fortifying him in difficult times.
Much like modern work is separated into white and blue collar, 17th-century tradition held that sacred occupations (like priest or monk) trumped secular ones (like farming or blacksmithing). The Puritans, however, rejected such a distinction. Holding to “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10), the Puritans sanctified the common, believing that all work, however lowly, if done for the glory of God, was good. Christ Himself “was not ashamed to labor; yea, and to use so simple an occupation,” said Puritan Hugh Latimer. The farmer’s plow became his altar, his tilling an act of service to God every bit as holy and valuable as the priest’s, reminding the unemployed that temporarily taking a step down in pay or status does not equate to failure.
Long before the days of therapists and career coaches, the Puritans learned how to cope with depression. They scorned idleness, believing it was indeed the devil’s workshop, bogging down the body in inertia, and leading to brooding. Luther had promoted the opposite, a life of diligence, saying “God . . . does not want me to sit at home, to loaf, to commit matters to God, and to wait till a fried chicken flies into my mouth.” Long before endorphins were discovered, the Puritans knew that moving and tiring the body in manual labor (even if that labor is the unpaid kind that paints the house and organizes the garage) proved a talisman against a host of mental ills.
Contrary to the misconstrued Victorian concept of ‘Puritanism,’ an idea C.S. Lewis calls “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy,” the original Puritans, serious as they were, embraced not only hard work, but the pursuit of joy.
The “haunting fear” quote in the last paragraph printed above is wrongly attributed to Lewis. It actually was H.L. Mencken who said this.
Excellent advice. Very true. Not always that easy to follow.
With all their privations, the early Puritans at least enjoyed the conviction that they were building the Kingdom. There are days, speaking personally, when that conviction seems very far away in our postmodern world.
If I were to lose my job, yes I would find work to do. But this imagery of going and taking some menial job, I couldn’t do. Not because I wouldn’t but it seems that I would be “over qualified”. I have heard many anecdotal stories lately of people who had well to high paying professional jobs not being able to secure work as a retail sales person, a laborer, a restaurant worker, or similar with that excuse applied. These are people that would apply themselves fully to the job. Yet these places will hire people to fill those same position that don’t even try to do the work, are unreliable, and may quit after a short period of time.
And the problem with saying “do volunteer work” is that it often costs quite a lot to volunteer … things like transport to the place of volunteering, clothes suitable for the part, and food for lunch etc — all add up.