Doing a useful job and doing it well

Many people do not have much choice in what work they do when they leave school.  They have to get the most suitable job they can in the district.  But whatever work you do, it should be something useful and you should do it well.  We may be quite sure that Jesus was never satisfied with anything but his best work in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth.  It has been said that work is the rent we pay for our room on earth; or, as St Paul has put it, “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (NRSV, 2 Thessalonians 3:10).  Notice Paul says “unwilling to work”.  So even if there is a shortage of jobs and someone cannot get a job, he or she should be willing to work and keep on trying to get into work.  Working as a volunteer in, for example, a charity is an option for some unemployed people.

Talents

Besides being useful, your work should also, as far as possible, make the most of the talents and skill God has given to you.  Some people are good at one thing, others at something else.  And that means that you ought to do all you can to develop and improve your abilities.  When God made you, he gave you these gifts for you to make the most of so that you can be as useful as possible to him and to other people.