Disciplines for a Spirituality of Work:
Definitions of Spirituality & Work

That is not what real spirituality is about at all, of course. Real spirituality is about making hard choices, about working with others to bring about a better world, about challenging ourselves and others to be, in the words of the ads for today's Army, "the best that you can be."

Try this definition: Spirituality is a serious, long-term, disciplined attempt to align ourselves and our environment with transcendental reality, the ultimate meaning of existence, the holy, the divine, in a word, with God, and to incarnate that spirit in the world.

What Is Work?

The definition of work is almost as problematic as the definition of spirituality. Do we mean only paid employment? What about all the work people do for free? For example, while I am "at work," my wife is home with our three children -- ages 11, 11 and 10 -- helping them with their homework and encouraging them to bodily hygiene. Who, I ask, is working harder? She or I?

What if someone is involuntarily unemployed or retired? Do they not still work?

Isn't there such a thing as "bad work" that no one should be doing (prostitution, for example, or producing, marketing and selling cigarettes)?

Then there is the religious tradition that says "work is punishment for sin" as well as the secular "if work is so great, why do they have to pay us to do it" mentality. Some people love their work, the argument goes, but these are few and far between. For most people, work is alienating, oppressive, exhausting -- anything but spiritual. Or so the popular culture has it. (Think of ten movies or TV shows that portray work in a positive light -- then eliminate those that are about teachers, medical personnel or others in service industries.) I'm not arguing that there is not a lot wrong with the workplace. In fact, I think that what work needs more than anything else is spirituality. But if there is a spirituality of work, then work must have at least the potential for good.

Try this definition: Work is all the effort we exert (paid or unpaid) to make the world a little better place (or if you insist on religious language, more like the reign of God).

Under this definition all work -- our jobs, fixing and cleaning up our homes, our church and community involvement, caring for parents, children, relatives, friends and strangers, even some of our hobbies -- can be seen in a spiritual light. Whether we are overpaid, underpaid, unpaid or correctly paid might be an important element of this spirituality, but it is not the sole determinant of our work's value.

What Is the Spirituality of Work?

With these definitions, the spirituality of work is a serious, long-term, disciplined attempt to align ourselves and our environment with transcendental reality, the ultimate meaning of existence, the holy, the divine, in a word, with God, and to incarnate that spirit in and through all our efforts (paid and unpaid) to make the world a little better place, a little closer to the way or reign of God.

But does such a spirituality of work exist as a "serious, long-term, disciplined" spiritual path? There are very few good books on the spirituality of work. It is not preached from the pulpit very often. There are few saints who espoused or practiced a spirituality based on their work in the secular world. There are no "schools" for this spirituality, few retreat centers specialize in it. There is no newsletter, no international organization or movement, no headquarters, no bible (unless you count the Bible -- but that's another discussion).

Why not? I think the answers are obvious. First, the contemplative tradition has won. It has convinced just about everyone that if we want to "align ourselves and our environment with the transcendental, the ultimate meaning of existence," we must get "away from" the world -- at least for a time. "Silence, solitude and simplicity" is the motto of traditional, contemplative spirituality.

There is a problem, however, with trying to adapt the contemplative spiritual disciplines to the workplace. It doesn't seem to work for the great majority of people. Parker Palmer put his finger on the problem in his 1990 book The Active Life:

"People who try to live by monastic norms sometimes fall so short ('I just can't find an hour a day to meditate') that they end up feeling guilty about leading 'unspiritual' lives. People caught in the gap between monastic values and the demands of active life sometimes simply abandon the spiritual quest. And people who follow a spirituality that does not always respect the energies of action are sometimes led into passivity and withdrawal, into a diminishment of their own spirits.

"In the spiritual literature of our time, it is not difficult to find the world of action portrayed as an arena of ego and power, while the world of contemplation is pictured as a realm of light and grace. I have often read, for example, that the treasure of 'true self' can be found as we draw back from active life and enter into contemplative prayer. Less often have I read that this treasure can be found in our struggles to work, create and care in the world of action."

Disciplines of a Spirituality of Work

The disciplines of a spirituality of work would have to be like these traditional disciplines, yet be designed for today's busy workplace. They would have to be things that people who are not particularly pious or even religious would feel comfortable doing. The key to these disciplines is that they be done consciously, faithfully and regularly and that they change our consciousness and awareness of what we are doing.

Here are a few "disciplines of the spirituality of work" to start with:

1. The Discipline of "Sacred Objects"
2. The Discipline of "Living with Imperfection"
3. The Discipline of "Assuring Quality"
4. The Discipline of "Giving Thanks and Congratulations"
5. The Discipline of "Deciding What Is Enough ... and Sticking to It"
6. The Discipline of "Generosity"

Greg Pierce is co-publisher of ACTA Publications in Chicago IL and leads an email chat-group entitled "Faith and Work in Cyberspace" which frequently discusses work and spirit issues. You can email Greg at gfapierce@aol.com.