When I was young, I hoped to change the world.
Then reality hit.
Don’t stop reading. This isn’t a depressing blog post.
Creation care
I spent time in Genesis 2 today. Verse 15 stood out to me – God’s commission to Adam, the first man, to care for creation. I wonder what filled his days back then? That was before weeds and bushfires and floods and disease. Did he have to dig the soil, plant, feed, prune, then harvest? Did he have to take flocks and herds from one pasture to another? I wonder how long he had to wait before God gave him a life partner.
Adam’s days would have been rather repetitive, I imagine. How much more exciting it would have been to build things, to have something more concrete (quite literally) to show for his efforts. Babel was just such a project, undertaken by his descendants … though that venture didn’t quite work out as planned.
The daily grind
This blog post comes from a hotel room. It’s stimulating to be back in Asia, although also a tad bitter-sweet. I am a visitor here now and no longer a resident. And I never did change the world.
A significant part of my work these days involves contributing to the systems that support others to do what I once did. Training – mentoring – information management – resource organisation – clarifying goals and strategies – co-ordinating communication – meetings galore – it’s not the stuff of Facebook updates.
Do you ever wonder what you do all day? And what you have to show for your hard work? I’m well aware that I’m not alone in this respect. In my case right now, living out of a suitcase gets a bit old too. I’m really looking forward to unpacking in ten days time. (Who is counting?!)
Don’t think that I don’t appreciate my current situation. Most of the time, I do. I get to spend time with special people, travel to interesting places and can even use ‘work time’ to focus on spirituality and writing. It’s a privileged life and I’m grateful to family and friends who make it possible. There have been many highlights over the years. Although I haven’t changed the world, I have had the honour of playing a part in what God is doing.
Non-headline work is valuable
The point of today’s blog post is to encourage myself (and anybody else who may read along) that non-headline work is valuable. We’re not all like Moses or Paul in terms of our callings. Many of us have roles more akin to Adam’s. Of course, it is important that we regularly assess what we’re doing and remain accountable to others so that we don’t spin off into blind busyness or mindless meetings. But we need not take on our shoulders the responsibility of changing the world.
Creation is God’s. Maintaining it is his business. God gave Adam and his descendants, including us, responsibility to care for creation. My particular responsibility just now includes one cat, a few plants and a whole lot of special people with whom I interact with in various ways.
History-shattering it is not, but it is enough.
