The Value and Dignity of Work
Monday is Labor Day. It’s a good day to reflect on the value and the dignity of work, especially from the perspective of our Catholic faith’s rich teachings on work. In our minds, we might think of work as drudgery. However, when we look to scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, our Catholic Social Teaching, and the writings of our popes about work, we gain insight on God’s meaning of work.
Scripture gives us numerous references to work, and highlights both the worker and the employer. Here are just a few examples:
· Genesis 2:15 - God settles man in the garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.
· Deuteronomy 14:28-29 - The Lord blesses our work so that we may share its fruits with others.
· Sirach 34:20-22 - To deprive an employee of wages is to commit murder.
· Jeremiah 22:13 - Woe to him who treats his workers unjustly.
· Matthew 20:1-16 - All workers should be paid a just and living wage.
· Luke 3:10-14 - Practice integrity in your work.
· James 5:1-6 - Those who become rich by abusing their workers have sinned against God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that work is an obligation, and also a right. Workers and employers both have responsibilities under God.
· Economy within God's Moral Order (2426) - Economic activity is meant to serve the needs of the human person. Its goal is not merely to multiply goods or increase profit. Economic activity must operate within the moral order by a social justice according to God's plan.
· Work as a Duty (2427-2428) - Human work comes from God's call to prolong his original work of creation. Therefore, work is a duty. "If anyone will not work, let him not eat" (2 Thess 3:10). By enduring work, man shares in Christ's cross and redemption. By work, man fulfills the potential inscribed in his nature. Work is for man, not man for work. Man is both the author and the beneficiary of his work, which should supply what he needs and also benefits the community.
· Duties of Owners (2432) - Owners are responsible for the economic and ecological effects of their businesses. Although profits are needed to guarantee employment, owners must consider the good of persons and not just their own profits.
· Just Wage (2433-2434) - Everyone must have access to employment without discrimination (men and women, healthy and sick, natives and immigrants) …. To refuse a just wage or to withhold it is a grave injustice.
The fifth theme of our Catholic Social Teaching, The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers, echoes what we learn from the Catechism: “The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected--the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.” (Catholic Social Teaching: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching)
Lastly, we hear from the writings of our popes about the value and dignity of work. Here are a few examples given by the USCCB (https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/the-dignity-of-work-and-the-rights-of-workers):
“It is clear from the very first pages of the Bible that work is an essential part of human dignity . . . (Gen 2:15). Man is presented as a laborer who works the earth, harnesses the forces of nature and produces ‘the bread of anxious toil’ (Ps 127:2), in addition to cultivating his own gifts and talents. Labor also makes possible the development of society and provides for the sustenance, stability and fruitfulness of one’s family . . .” (Pope Francis, The Joy of Love [Amoris Laetitia], nos. 23-24)
"In many cases, poverty results from a violation of the dignity of human work, either because work opportunities are limited (through unemployment or underemployment), or 'because a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and his or her family'." (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth [Caritas in Veritate], no. 63)
"Work is . . . an obligation . . . a duty, on the part of man. . . Man must work, both because the Creator has commanded it and because of his own humanity, which requires work in order to be maintained and developed. Man must work out of regard for others, especially his own family, but also for the society he belongs to, the country of which he is a child, and the whole human family of which he is a member, since he is the heir to the work of generations and at the same time a sharer in building the future of those who will come after him in the succession of history." (St. John Paul II, On Human Work [Laborem Exercens], no. 16)
Let us pray for all workers, for those who are unemployed and underemployed, for those who are seeking work, and for employers.
St. Joseph, the Worker, pray for us!
~St. Luke Life, Justice and Peace Ministry
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