As usual, as soon as I post a blog, new ideas come to mind that should have been included in the original post. This time, however, the ideas came from a good friend, Ryan Warren, who recently gave a sermon on "Work, Rest, and Play" (http://www.providenceconway.org/sermons/sermon/2014-02-23/who-we-are---rhythms:-rest--work--and-play). I listened to this talk shortly after posting my blog, and found that it was rich with insightful content. It also gave me some new ideas on the theme of work.
The first thing that Ryan's talk revealed to me was that our time is not spent only working or resting. There is also a third use of time, namely playing. This is important, because it shows us that we are actually meant to live life, and enjoy it "abundantly", rather than base our lives on producing. We are not on an endless sequence of work-rest-repeat.
Relatedly, the differences I mentioned in the original post between 'worldly' and 'redeemed' work are illustrated quite vividly in the Old Testament. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt was the epitome of the worldly conception of work - it was forced, assembly-line, laborious work with scarcely enough rest to allow for continued work (and certainly no play). Furthermore, the worth of the individual was measured in terms of what they produced, as each person was assigned a minimum quota of, say, brick production. If the quota was not met, the worker would receive harsh punishment. This is a clear reflection of 'the Law' - the never-ending yet impossible compulsion to earn one's own salvation, and the devastating consequences of failing to do so.
Not coincidentally, the Israelites' slavery in Egypt is also reminiscent of work in modern times. The working conditions, for instance, resemble Marx's description of factory labour during the Industrial Revolution. Continuing in a Marxian vein, the system of labour in Egypt reflected the commodification of work in modern society, whereby work is treated like a tradable commodity ('labour'), to which an exchange-value can be assigned. This implies that, in modern society, as in the Law, our worth is measured by what we produce. Furthermore, the use-value of work - its intrsinic worth - is lost. So, although we are not technically slaves in the capitalist system, we are enslaved by its fundamental laws.
I am not advocating an overthrow of capitalism, which I don't think would sit well with the rest of Biblical teaching (slaves obey your masters, anyone?). But I do think it points to the need to reform work: to make it more intrinsically valuable, and not to priortise it above rest and play, all three of which are God-given. Of course, in a fallen world, there are always some menial tasks that must be performed by humans, even if robots are performing more and more of these, and even if work reforms (such as job rotation) mitigate their tediousness somewhat. Personally, as I elaborate in my PhD thesis, I think that even these forms of labour can be 'redeemed' in a cooperative setting, which provides a sense of community and purpose (a point which ecohes Durkheim's musings on the division of labour). Again, I think that this form of menial-yet-purposeful labour, performed in a community setting, reflects much of what it means for work to be redeemed, whether in terms of 'good works' or simply your 9 to 5.
That said, this type of work reform may be a pipedream. Nevertheless, even if we remain within the present system of wage slavery, we must learn to let Christ redeem our work, and our rest. As Ryan points out in his sermon, when the Israelites were freed from bondage, God actually commanded them to rest on the Sabbath (Deuteronomy 5:12–5:15), just as Adam and Eve were commanded to work. The purpose of this rest was to ensure that the Israelites remembered from whence they had come, and how they had been delivered. We must constantly remember that, through Christ, our lives are also redeemed - even the menial (and possibly unjust) aspects of it.
The first thing that Ryan's talk revealed to me was that our time is not spent only working or resting. There is also a third use of time, namely playing. This is important, because it shows us that we are actually meant to live life, and enjoy it "abundantly", rather than base our lives on producing. We are not on an endless sequence of work-rest-repeat.
Relatedly, the differences I mentioned in the original post between 'worldly' and 'redeemed' work are illustrated quite vividly in the Old Testament. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt was the epitome of the worldly conception of work - it was forced, assembly-line, laborious work with scarcely enough rest to allow for continued work (and certainly no play). Furthermore, the worth of the individual was measured in terms of what they produced, as each person was assigned a minimum quota of, say, brick production. If the quota was not met, the worker would receive harsh punishment. This is a clear reflection of 'the Law' - the never-ending yet impossible compulsion to earn one's own salvation, and the devastating consequences of failing to do so.
Not coincidentally, the Israelites' slavery in Egypt is also reminiscent of work in modern times. The working conditions, for instance, resemble Marx's description of factory labour during the Industrial Revolution. Continuing in a Marxian vein, the system of labour in Egypt reflected the commodification of work in modern society, whereby work is treated like a tradable commodity ('labour'), to which an exchange-value can be assigned. This implies that, in modern society, as in the Law, our worth is measured by what we produce. Furthermore, the use-value of work - its intrsinic worth - is lost. So, although we are not technically slaves in the capitalist system, we are enslaved by its fundamental laws.
I am not advocating an overthrow of capitalism, which I don't think would sit well with the rest of Biblical teaching (slaves obey your masters, anyone?). But I do think it points to the need to reform work: to make it more intrinsically valuable, and not to priortise it above rest and play, all three of which are God-given. Of course, in a fallen world, there are always some menial tasks that must be performed by humans, even if robots are performing more and more of these, and even if work reforms (such as job rotation) mitigate their tediousness somewhat. Personally, as I elaborate in my PhD thesis, I think that even these forms of labour can be 'redeemed' in a cooperative setting, which provides a sense of community and purpose (a point which ecohes Durkheim's musings on the division of labour). Again, I think that this form of menial-yet-purposeful labour, performed in a community setting, reflects much of what it means for work to be redeemed, whether in terms of 'good works' or simply your 9 to 5.
That said, this type of work reform may be a pipedream. Nevertheless, even if we remain within the present system of wage slavery, we must learn to let Christ redeem our work, and our rest. As Ryan points out in his sermon, when the Israelites were freed from bondage, God actually commanded them to rest on the Sabbath (Deuteronomy 5:12–5:15), just as Adam and Eve were commanded to work. The purpose of this rest was to ensure that the Israelites remembered from whence they had come, and how they had been delivered. We must constantly remember that, through Christ, our lives are also redeemed - even the menial (and possibly unjust) aspects of it.
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