Job Comparison

For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 2 Corinthians 10:12

It happens, all the time. In fact a lot of our days are spent mentally ranking each other in the context of occupations. There's the "whose job is more important" angle, "who has the hardest job", or "who is working the best". They flit through our heads and some days they land and build nests.

I am so guilty myself of these comparisons. And to be honest some of the thought processes are not fully bad. It's good to be aware of which co-worker has changed more diapers during the day or dealt with a particularly nasty one, so that you can step in and carry your weight or provide a touch of relief.

But in my world where voiced opinion seems to fall on two totally different ends of the spectrum, from the idea that I am a glorified babysitter, to the comments that head into "I don't know how you do it - that job takes a special person."territory (Truth is, both of these are comments entrenched in a code of rank. This idea that watching children is a job fit only for young teens with little life or job experience, and the concept that my work is only suitable to certain personality types. ) I find myself often caught up in the chaos of trying to figure out where I fit in the grand scheme of things.

And I don't. I don't fit that is.

Slowly, as I am gaining understanding in watching people I am trying to move out of trying to fit. Out of trying to pull myself up over the heads of others by emphasizing my caring nature, or how hard my  job is on some days. I am slowly trying to leave the rank climbing and worrying about whether or not I am understood by others.

I am trying to find contentment in being a person, not a job.

It's true. There are jobs that we are suited for more than others. But it is also true that even the job with the best fit is still exactly that - a job. Teachers who view their work with students as a calling, still have to put up with the politics, and the unending pressures that continually pull "calling" back into "work". Missionaries, pastors, those who feel chosen for a ministry will, if they are honest, admit that the place they are in is still an uphill battle most of the time. A factory worker who has a simplistic repetitive job with a good paycheck will tell you in a heart beat about the difficulties of conquering boredom and mental fatigue.

Having children has helped. Because I have a High School student for the first time. Her life this last month has been full of talk about occupational paths and finding the skill seminars that fits "what direction she wants to take in life". And I am realizing swiftly that equating an occupational direction with "life" is just another lie that the world tells us.

While there is some fun in asking elementary students what they want to be when they grow up, there are the jobs that never get mentioned: garbage collector, factory line worker, yard service, grocery store clerk. And yet these positions are not less important than the firefighters, soldiers, and teachers of tomorrow. Yes, some occupations exact a higher price than others. And I believe we should honor that. But that price still has little to say about who we really are.

Our worth in front of God is priceless, each and every one of us. Unfortunately, I spend far less time contemplating that truth and what it means than I do worrying about my occupational future. And it needs to change. I don't need to worry so much about pleasing the boss, but about pleasing the one who made me. Sounds simple and preachy. But there is some truth behind all of the cliche. And it is a truth I need.

So today as I go to work my goal isn't to be the best special needs aide that I can be, but to please the creator and look around in awe at all the others he has created too, no matter their occupation in this life. To be able to see them as priceless as my own self.  It gives life an equality that feels right somehow. It imparts worth unequivocally. Even my students, many who will never function in society at a level where they are capable of fulfilling a job have this worth. And it is an amazing, mind blowing thing. Something that makes me smile as I head off to the daily grind instead of dreading it.