“I suppose that flowers, when they’re through blooming, have some sort of awareness of some purpose having been served,” he mused horticulturally to a Playboy interviewer in 1973. “Flowers didn’t ask to be flowers and I didn’t ask to be me. At the end of Slaughterhouse-Five, I had the feeling that I had produced this blossom. So I had a shutting-off feeling, you know, that I had done what I was supposed to do and everything was OK. And that was the end of it.”
– Kurt Vonnegut in The Atlantic
Every person should have work of which they’re proud. A furniture designer should have a chair, a cabinet, a spinning wooden top with precision balance that keeps a child mesmerized. A musician strives to write one song they know came from the purest part of their soul. A teacher wants a student who reaches out 20 years after the class and says, “Thank you for impacting my life.” In business, an executive needs a project, a sales pitch like Don Draper captured with The Carousel in Mad Men.
I think of this idea often: is there a singular thing I was created to do? Are there multiple events, endeavors, “chance” meetings all laid out ahead of time over years and decades? Of course the pursuit can turn into a narcissistic quest for fame, a never-ending spiral of navel-gazing. No, not that. I’m referring to purposeful output, the celestial wiring provided by our Lord. The yield should include service to our fellow man, right? Scripture places the highest value on sacrificial giving as the ultimate gain. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” Eph 5:2 (ESV). God also cares deeply about work. In Genesis 2:15 (ESV) He says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” God gave Adam and Eve specific work, both physical work (gardening) and cultural and intellectual work (naming the animals). Everything we do is rooted in God’s design for humanity. Yes, science and technology included.
My friend Rhoda Lewis is a photographer, and in my opinion, has upwards of 50 images that qualify as a fragrant offering, a body of work “God saw that it was good.” I’m not sure how much effort or purposeful intent she’s put into her exquisite portfolio; not sure if this is a work goal or a hobby. All I know is her compositions are perfectly balanced, generating immediate WOW! An artist I came across recently, c.sanmillan has the same effect. I guess he calls them “still lifes,” maybe “impressionism,” doesn’t matter. What counts is he knows color, light and shading. Does he see any of his pieces as captured perfection after years of exploring the canvas? Or is he unsatisfied with his output? How about you? Do you have one work endeavor you know qualifies as good?
At some point on the timeline, the ticker stops, the work is done. On this side of heaven we’ll never know what thing was the most important task, maybe they all were. Maybe things in the form of work are way down the list of eternal value, and all that matters were the human encounters. Could be the seminal event God planned for you was the thank you-with-a-smile-and-eye-contact-plus-firm-handshake you gave to the stranger who helped change your tire. Maybe that exchange reminded both of you of the little things that keep the world spinning, and cause angels to applaud.
See ya next time. ML