It is interesting to note that the commandment concerning work is stated as an imperative. It sounds like a direct duty that a person is required to fulfill.
People’s happiness depends greatly on what they do, the spirit in which they carry out their work, and how what they do benefits others. Of course, the atmosphere at work and the relationships among coworkers should also be taken into account.
There are many kinds of work, and they all differ from one another. Sometimes work considered honorable in one country is regarded as degrading in another. For example, from my school years I was taught that if I did not acquire a good profession, my lifelong lot would be to work as a street cleaner, and I was very afraid of that. When I moved to Germany, I entered the construction trade, trained as a bricklayer, and worked at something I enjoyed. But one day I was laid off, and I began looking for another job. It was winter, however, and all the construction sites had shut down. Then I received an invitation to apply for a position as a street cleaner, but I had to go through a competitive selection process. I had an education, construction experience, excellent references, and met every requirement. Yet I was not hired because I stated that, in obedience to the commandment, I would not work on Saturdays. I do not know what employment conditions are like for street cleaners in Russia today, but here this is a highly desirable position. A person who obtains it comes under state protection and can count on financial security and various benefits until retirement, even if he is frequently ill. He is provided with transportation, clothing, and the necessary tools, and he serves a large area of the city in many different capacities.
I was disappointed that I had not been hired as a street cleaner, but the Lord had something better for me.
Construction is probably one of those fields where people who have no skills, yet do not want to sit idle, come looking for work. You can imagine what kinds of people may be found there. Many have very difficult characters and their own ambitious opinions about various matters. At times the workplace becomes a spiritual battlefield where Satan seeks to corrupt good character and destroy souls. And if the client also refuses to pay, the work becomes very interesting indeed, and the consequences unpredictable. This does not happen everywhere or all the time, but I have been through a great deal.
As a believer, I always tried to be a conscientious worker and to maintain a friendly spirit, something everyone could see. I continually rejoiced in my work and thanked God for giving it to me. Every difficulty became a rigorous school in which I learned to love and to live in the light. Not everyone valued my attitude toward life, and some openly hated me. But I continue to grow and move forward, and the Lord protects me from evil.
Even before I knew the laws of happiness, I noticed that my work gave me pleasure and aesthetic satisfaction—especially when I was paid for it and could later admire the results of my labor. When you put all your love into building walls, those walls somehow seem to glow in your eyes afterward. I enjoy remembering how joyful the work was and what good feelings I experienced. Buildings may be inanimate objects, but the right spirit leaves its mark upon them.
Can you imagine, then, how much happiness I receive from living people into whom I have poured my heart—people whom I was able to help in some way and whose lives I helped make more beautiful? It brings me such joy to know that there are people in this world in whom I was able to invest my love, my life, and my resources. I am happy that I was able to do something good for someone. Even when I am not always appreciated, I am still content that a part of my heart and love lives somewhere in this world and continues to make itself known.
Being busy and having a job do not in themselves bring happiness. They divert our attention from other problems and cares, but they are not the source of the soul’s satisfaction, although they help produce it because we have done something meaningful and brought it into the world. True happiness, however, comes from the right spirit and an overall joyful attitude toward life and its problems. And if a person with such a spirit also believes in God and sees Him as the Source of all his blessings, his happiness is ten times stronger and better because it has a firm Foundation.
I work. This is the brick of happiness made for me in God’s laboratory. It has been fired in God’s kiln and is waiting for its place in my little house, where it will delight my heart forever.
Some deeds are visible, while others are unseen. Unseen deeds are spiritual in nature and can have eternal consequences both for me and for the people for whom they are done. The love invested in every such good deed exerts a very powerful and profound influence on a person’s soul. It does not pass without a trace, but accomplishes its purpose in weary hearts and souls, bearing the seal of God’s blessing and approval. Like snow and rain, love descends into people’s lives to fulfill the purpose for which it was sent. If it falls upon a stone, it washes the stone and causes no harm, then returns to its source so that it may later be poured into another person’s life in new blessings.
Deeds of love are beautiful because they have the purest motive and can be performed at any time.
What blessedness it is to invest your love, talents, knowledge, time, and life in another person’s happiness—and then to watch that soul rejoice while modestly thinking that you did nothing extraordinary, but merely shared what overflowed within you and was seeking an outlet.
I imagine the joy of the redeemed when they stand before the Great White Throne, bow reverently before their Savior, hear words of blessing, receive their rewards, pass through all the ceremonies and celebrations, and then are sent home to attend to their own affairs. And what will those affairs be? Everyone will be thinking about what he can do for someone else’s happiness.
I have an advantage because I already know that everyone will think this way, and so I am planning many good deeds for the happiness of my friends. Together with others, we will devise campaigns and loving ‘attacks’ to make the eternal lives of those around us even more beautiful and happy. There will be no limit to our imagination in this area. People will probably line up to join me in bringing happiness to others. At least, that is how I imagine Eternity—and it has already begun here.
A little later I will share my experience of making friends happy in this world. For now I will say that here we will not always be understood by everyone in our happiness and in our desire to make others happy. People suspect a hidden motive and close themselves off so that they will not be deceived and disappointed once again. It simply seems too good to be true.
Some tasks add a great deal of busyness and consume all my time. They too must be done, but we should rest from them on the Sabbath. Deeds of love, however, can be done at any time and woven into every undertaking and conversation.
Happiness flows from deeds of love. It simply adores loving and is ready for any act of agape, if only it can once again experience those happy moments of joy that come from putting love into action and passing goodness on to another.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Titus 2:7–8, 14; 3:14; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 2:11–12; Psalm 39:5–7; Ecclesiastes 6:11; 3:12–13, 22; 5:10, 16–18; Galatians 6:5–10; Isaiah 53:11; 49:4; 55:10–13; 32:20; Galatians 5:25; Colossians 3:23–25