The nonesense of earning a living
Leave to my good friend and mentor, Chris Davis to drop this bomb of a quote on Facebook:
“The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery….The true business of people should be to go back to school and think
about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came
along and told them they had to earn a living.” — R. Buckminster Fuller
Here’s some bits and pieces of the conversation that followed. (It’s too long to post in its entirety. If you wish to read it click here.) Kathy Clement is another jewel of a mentor. Her help and wisdom guided me through my early days of homeschooling.
Theresa Lode Chris that sounds wonderful but….what does the alternative look like?
Kathy Clement You need a wealthy patron to live that life. I think the window of opportunity for this exercise is during childhood. Because we focus on school instead of education, it doesn’t happen… But we do have to earn a living…. Sometimes I think our generation is so focused on the pursuit of happiness that we miss out on experiencing the joy of the present moment. The generation that invented the concept of finding oneself is still looking.
Chris Davis I partially agree. The job Adam and Eve was given was to work in a garden God had already planted. The question I ask is, “Did their provision come from their employment or from the Lord? Can a person’s employment merely be what god has given him to do separate from God’s provision?
I pose these questions because, when we tie a person’s provision to his employment, we create a situation in the mind where a person thinks his needs will be met only through his job rather than being able to believe what Jesus said, “If you seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, all ‘these things’ will be given to you”….
Can employment merely be that which God has created for a person to “tend”and then that person can look to God to give the person what he needs?
In school, individuals are constantly given the message that their future bliss depends on what kind of job they will end up with and they are promised that education will find them much better jobs which will entitle them to a much better life. What if what God wants them to do has nothing to do with a good life or lots of stuff?
Kathy Clement Agreed. However, if you take this point of view, you have to ask yourself some pretty serious questions. Like, do I want to marry? If so, you need to find an individual who will be joyful in sharing that type of journey. Then, do I wan…t to have children? Because if you do, you have a responsibility to provide them with basic care. And that calls for resources…
I think of Paul. He had a trade. He was a tentmaker. Probably not his passion, but I bet he made great tents. His trade was a vehicle for him to interact with his passion….preaching the Gospel. I think this is a great model for our lives.
I think of my mom, probably the most truly godly person I have ever known. She found joy in the most mundane task. She lived in an almost streaming relationship with the Lord. He was her passion, and that passion spilled over into everything she did whether it was putting up applesauce, teaching Sunday School or managing the small town credit union.
So, while I think we are saying the same thing, I am saying it from this angle: The greatest gift my mother gave me was the model of living passionately. That’s what I think we need to give to our children. And to do that, we have to model it. When that fire has been lit, it consumes everything around it. This is what you have been saying ever since I first met you.
Our children are not projects to be successfully completed. They are relationships for us to nurture and enjoy. You’ve had it right all along. Relationships first. Skills second. Academics last.
Go read the rest of this great conversation…there’s much more!
“The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery….The true business of people should be to go back to school and think
about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came
along and told them they had to earn a living.” — R. Buckminster Fuller
Here’s some bits and pieces of the conversation that followed. (It’s too long to post in its entirety. If you wish to read it click here.) Kathy Clement is another jewel of a mentor. Her help and wisdom guided me through my early days of homeschooling.
Theresa Lode Chris that sounds wonderful but….what does the alternative look like?
Kathy Clement You need a wealthy patron to live that life. I think the window of opportunity for this exercise is during childhood. Because we focus on school instead of education, it doesn’t happen… But we do have to earn a living…. Sometimes I think our generation is so focused on the pursuit of happiness that we miss out on experiencing the joy of the present moment. The generation that invented the concept of finding oneself is still looking.
Chris Davis I partially agree. The job Adam and Eve was given was to work in a garden God had already planted. The question I ask is, “Did their provision come from their employment or from the Lord? Can a person’s employment merely be what god has given him to do separate from God’s provision?
I pose these questions because, when we tie a person’s provision to his employment, we create a situation in the mind where a person thinks his needs will be met only through his job rather than being able to believe what Jesus said, “If you seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, all ‘these things’ will be given to you”….
Can employment merely be that which God has created for a person to “tend”and then that person can look to God to give the person what he needs?
In school, individuals are constantly given the message that their future bliss depends on what kind of job they will end up with and they are promised that education will find them much better jobs which will entitle them to a much better life. What if what God wants them to do has nothing to do with a good life or lots of stuff?
Kathy Clement Agreed. However, if you take this point of view, you have to ask yourself some pretty serious questions. Like, do I want to marry? If so, you need to find an individual who will be joyful in sharing that type of journey. Then, do I wan…t to have children? Because if you do, you have a responsibility to provide them with basic care. And that calls for resources…
I think of Paul. He had a trade. He was a tentmaker. Probably not his passion, but I bet he made great tents. His trade was a vehicle for him to interact with his passion….preaching the Gospel. I think this is a great model for our lives.
I think of my mom, probably the most truly godly person I have ever known. She found joy in the most mundane task. She lived in an almost streaming relationship with the Lord. He was her passion, and that passion spilled over into everything she did whether it was putting up applesauce, teaching Sunday School or managing the small town credit union.
So, while I think we are saying the same thing, I am saying it from this angle: The greatest gift my mother gave me was the model of living passionately. That’s what I think we need to give to our children. And to do that, we have to model it. When that fire has been lit, it consumes everything around it. This is what you have been saying ever since I first met you.
Our children are not projects to be successfully completed. They are relationships for us to nurture and enjoy. You’ve had it right all along. Relationships first. Skills second. Academics last.
Go read the rest of this great conversation…there’s much more!
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