No Work is Insignificant – Value Work

​by: Atty. Carolina Lim-Gamban

​Last May 1, we, together with more than eighty (80) countries, have celebrated the International Workers’ Day also known as Labor Day. Annually we celebrate this to honor and recognize the economic and social significance of our workforce, regardless of the type of employment or type of employees. But why do we need to celebrate and value work? For six days in a row, God continually worked on creation, and it was good. Imagine the intricacies of His creation and we, too, are wowed by what we can see in nature. It was excellently done and carefully considered. From its beauty, complexity, and accuracy, we can see that God values work, and as men and women created in His image and likeness, we too, ought to value work and workmanship.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left us a wonderful quote that will make us embrace and honor work, no matter what the job is. He said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” It is indeed true that no work is insignificant as long as it uplifts humanity. Whether we are in blue-collar jobs or white-collar jobs, we must put love in our craft in order to excellently achieve every day’s targets and goals. Regardless if it’s physical or mental work, it must reflect the excellent spirit given to us.

There are many benefits of valuing work. When we value work, there’s peace and joy within us because we know that we have done our part the best we can. It invites praise and commendation, not only because a target or goal has been met, but because its execution is way beyond expectation. It brings wealth when our clients or customers always come back to avail our services or buy the products we sell because they know it is of high quality. When we value work, we become conduits to provide for the needs of our family, our friends, and even other people. Last but never the least, putting premium to our work glorifies God and will bring eventual glory as we offer the works of our hands to our Creator and Master.
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Let us not belittle our work nor take it for granted. Let every work have a mark of thanksgiving to God, and surely it will all be done with gladness in our hearts. Our labor is not in vain as we offer our work as a pleasing aroma before Him. Whatever we do, we do it for the glory of God. For we know that as we work with all our hearts, as if we are working for God, we will receive our inheritance from Him as our reward.