Article 16 ~ Let them esteem work both as a gift and as a sharing in the creation, redemption, and service of the human community.
Living through a hurricane as devastating as Hurricane Charley brings out both the best and the worst in people. On the weekend after the hurricane, before my electricity was restored,I read all the stories from the newspaper (which had been delivered, regardless of the downed trees in my neighborhood and the generator-powered printing press) and came across one that I found disturbing. The story was about a Punta Gorda family's loss of their trailer home when Charley ripped off the roof over the eldest daughter's bedroom. The mother in the family was so upset at the sight of her home that she refused to go back, leaving her husband and children to salvage what they could out of the trailer while she stayed at the grandmother's home. Of course, my heart ached for them and for all the victims of the hurricane, but the woman made the ordeal harder on herself and her family by refusing to help with the work. Not only did she miss and opportunity to make herself feel better by getting absorbed in physical labor and concentrating on what could be saved instead of what was lost, she also taught her children that it's okay to shunt work off on other people in favor of being a victim.
A fundamental of the Franciscan life, as we read in Article 16 of the Rule, is that we are esteem work as a gift from God. The reasons for directing Secular Franciscans to value work are illustrated by the story related about the woman in Punta Gorda. Her family had, indeed, had a devastating thing happen...they lost their home to a hurricane. When bad things happen to us, we feel angry, depressed, frustrated, helpless, and powerless. However, work gives an outlet for our anger and frustration, allowing us to relieve the physical effects of the emotions. Work gives us a sense of purpose, helping to overcome the depression we feel. Also, work gives us a sense of accomplishment, helping to overcome our feelings of helplessness and powerlessness. How much better that woman would have felt had she worked with her family salvaging what they could but realizing the truth of what my neighbor John said a few days after the hurricane: things can be replaced, people cannot!
The National Work Commission sells bumpter stickers that say "Thank God It's Monday. Work is a Gift from God." I'm not sure if I'm a good enough Secular Franciscan to leap out of bed Monday morning and rejoice about going to work. However, I do know that on the Saturday morning after the hurricane, I was thankful that I was able to clean up the yard and keep myself from dwelling on the inconvenience of not having electricity or telephone service. Work truly is a gift from God.
