Is Your Work a Paycheck or a Calling?

The story Howard tells is an old one, but it has lasted this long for a reason: people have been struggling to find purpose in their work for a very long time. As Howard points out, sometimes the difference in finding this purpose is not in the work we do, but in our understanding of the story behind what we do.

What's your work narrative? How do you understand the purpose behind what you do?

TRANSCRIPT: Three stonemasons were building a cathedral when a stranger wandered by. The first stonemason was toting rocks to a pile, near a wall. "What are you doing?" said the stranger.

"Can't you see that I'm carrying rocks?"

The stranger asked the second laborer, "What are you doing?"

"I'm building a wall," he replied.

A few steps away, the stranger came upon a third mason. "What are you doing?" he asked.

This worker smiled. "I'm building a cathedral to the glory of God!"

Same jobs, different missions. The question is: Is our work a paycheck or a calling? I'm Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge, with this reminder—any job, done to God's glory, proves the high calling of our daily work.