By: T.L.Gangte, (Retd.) General Manager, DIC
“Life is movement, stagnation is death”
- Eugene Sandow, World Famous Physical Educationist.
It is evident that everywhere there has been deep erosion of our traditional and cultural values, specially in relation to the attitude of the young and old working to earn living by the sweat of one’s brow. A glimpse into the example of work ethics of some historical figures and of some advanced countries may prove telling to comprehend the full depth of work culture.
1. Work example of Apostle Paul: Work culture has to be understood clearly in the example set by Apostle Paul. It is evident beyond doubt that Apostle Paul set a highly emulative example of work culture. In 2 Thess 3:7-10, Paul was found working and laboring with his own hands to earn his own maintenance throughout his first, second and third missionary journeys. In 1 Thess 2:9 he and his companions worked for living nights and days. In 1 Cor 4:12, he and his companions worn themselves out working with their own hands. During the period of his stay in Corinth for more than one and half years, Apostle Paul earned his own bread by joining Acquila and his wife Priscilla in the trade of tent-making (Acts 18:2-3). He and his companions earned enough by the sweat of their brows to meet their needs (Acts 20:34) and (Acts 2:34). Working with one’s own hand for self-reliance is obviously the Slogan of Apostle Paul (1 Thess 4:11,12).
2. Dignity of honest toil: The Jews glorified dignity of honest toil, “He who does not teach his son a trade” they said “teach his son to steal”. A Rabbi among the Jews did not take pay for the teaching. He must have a trade and must satisfy his daily needs with the works of his own hands. So there are many Rabbis who are Bakers, Carpenters, Masons and who followed all kinds of trades. The Jews believed in the dignity of honest toil and they were sure that a scholar lost something when he became so academic and so withdrawn from life that he forget how to work with his hands.
Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel did all domestic chores - cooking, washing, tea preparation, sweeping etc. all her life in spite of an exceptionally heavy grueling demand upon her time and labour in the Office and outside. In Kibutz she cultivated and sustained tough going culture after migration at the age of twenty from America to Israel with her husband. Throughout the long period of her political life in Israel, she sustained and perpetuated the tough going culture till her death. She did not consider it unbecoming of her high Office as Prime Minister of Israel to do all kinds of household chores by herself without employing a servant.
On his way to Rome, Paul and the Ship’s Company were stranded at Malta Island with 276 members of a crew. At night a bonfire is to be made with brush wood. Paul did not consider it unbecoming of him to volunteer for collection of brush wood. We can see that for all Paul’s visions he was an intensely practical man. Great man though he was, he was not ashamed to be useful in the smallest things.
Booker Washington was the greatest scholar and administrator of the Negroes in America. He in his youth walked hundreds of mile to one of the few universities which took in Negro students. When he got there he was told that the classes were full. He was offered a job at making beds and sweeping floors. He took it and he swept those floors and made those beds so well that before very long they took him as a student.
Socio-economic growth is nothing more and nothing less than sustaining, cultivation and motivation of work attitude. In developed countries like Germany, Japan, Britain, America etc. honest toil for livelihood is glorified and dignified to the extend of working to the point of exhaustion when they work and to the point of exhaustion when they play. Work culture is to be cultivated and practiced, teaching by deeds not by what we said. All of us are to build our Christianity in with any job/work we did.
3 Work Culture of Jesus: We have the example of Jesus himself as a worker. He was the carpenter of Nazareth and legend has it that he made the best Ox-yoke in all Palestine and that men came from all over the country to buy them. A tree is known by its fruit and a man is known by his work.
4 Work attitude of Col. Davenport (USA): In 1780, The Connecticut House of Representatives was in session. The skies at noon turned completely dark one day. Men and Women fell on their knees and begged a final blessing in their simple belief that the end was coming. Many of the members in the House clamored for immediate adjournment of the meeting. At this, Col. Davenport, Speaker of the House came to his feet and silenced the commotion with these words: “The day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought”.
The option of the Speaker to be found doing his duty till the expected Day of Judgment is the right work attitude for all of us to get ingrained into. It is considered imperative for all of us swearing by Christianity to emulate the attitude of the Speaker.
5. Work example of Governor Marie Cuomo of New York : Governor Marie Cuomo would never take a vacation if he could avoid it. When he does go away, he is almost constantly on the telephone with his staff. Aide and long-term friend Fabian Palomino says, “He can relax, but he gets his energy back in a very short time”. “The one great sin” Cuomo firmly believes, “is wasting existence”. He will do anything he can to occupy his time, even if it is cleaning the oven. “I look forward to filling my day” he wrote in his diary after his election in 1982. “Cleaning, arranging, working, catching up, putting things in order. Never leave moments totally empty. If you are too tired to read or write or think, do something you are not too tired to do. Clean the refrigerator. Rake the leaves. Shine the shoes”.
The message from the lifestyle of Governor Marie Cuomo is that every one of us should never leave moments of our working hours entirely empty, lazy and idle. His life style is also a complete negation of sedentary life style worthy of emulation by all of us.
6. Work culture of the Japanese: The Japanese Workers worked feverishly and relentlessly as if they were digging trenches on the frontlines of the battle. A foreigner visiting Japan had the actual experience of coming across two well-dressed young men cleaning up his car voluntarily while parking it at an oil depot. The lesson from the seemingly peculiar behavior of the two Japanese young men is that they do not allow a few moments of leisure and idleness in their lives.
There are only two job classifications in Japan: skilled and unskilled. Depending on what need to be done on a given day, a worker may perform a variety of jobs. If the floor is dirty, he will pick up a broom and sweep it without worrying about whether that is a part of his job classification. Naturally, this sense of responsibility leads to much greater efficiency.
The Japanese worker is highly disciplined. If something is crooked, he will straighten it. If there is a problem on the assembly line, he will stop the line until it is fixed. These guy have a lot of pride. They see their work as a mission. You do not hear stories in Japan about workers showing up with a hangover. There is no industrial sabotage and no visible worker alienation. Some Japanese companies had fined supervisors because so many of them insisted on working on holidays as well as on their days off.
7. Negation of work culture by too much leisure: Too much leisure is negation of work culture. Paul B. Smith says that it is the idle hand that practices evil and idle mind that conceives sin. The most dangerous thing for any man or woman is to allow himself or herself to have too much spare time in idleness and to let his or her thoughts wander without control and discipline. In Churachandpur District and in other parts of Manipur, our boys and girls were given too much leisure and too much spare time to practice evil and to conceive sin after schools and at night. The consequences of leisure culture is staring us everywhere among the youngsters.
8. The need of avoiding sedentary life style: The assertion and affirmation by HK Bakhru, a renowned Naturopath and internationally famous proponent of nature cure is that the most important factor contributing to health and longevity is physical activity to keep the muscles firm and strong but also the activity of the mind to keep the thought process and emotions flexible. Nothing is more ageing than boredom and idleness. Lazy people did not live long. Many and varied interest should be developed so as to keep oneself fully occupied mentally and physically. The mind is at its best when occupied usefully and constructively. One should not worry about using up one’s brain. The brain is a sturdy organ capable of giving efficient service for a hundred years or more. Not using it can lead to mental deterioration. The mind should always, therefore, be kept busy with subjects that are absorbing, preferably that those present a challenge and stimulate and develop thoughts. The finding of US experts is that sedentary life style is unhealthy and that exercise will reduce disease and death. Physical activity is a key to robust health, long life and good looks. Moderate exercise involving walking and jogging is a necessity for all of us.
9. Fructification of Work Culture: Working by one’s own hand, labouring to earn by the sweat of one’s brow is the most conducive factor for moulding the mentality of the youths and the old. The centrality of work in human life is the indispensable foundation stone for socio-economic growth. The character and personality of a man is shaped and moulded decisively and formatively by working and labouring. The person who is working and labouring is sure to be disciplined, self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-educated, self-confident, self-cultured, healthy, wealthy and wise eventually to the maximum benefit of the community and the country.
End Notes and References
Source: GANGGAM.COM
“Life is movement, stagnation is death”
- Eugene Sandow, World Famous Physical Educationist.
It is evident that everywhere there has been deep erosion of our traditional and cultural values, specially in relation to the attitude of the young and old working to earn living by the sweat of one’s brow. A glimpse into the example of work ethics of some historical figures and of some advanced countries may prove telling to comprehend the full depth of work culture.
1. Work example of Apostle Paul: Work culture has to be understood clearly in the example set by Apostle Paul. It is evident beyond doubt that Apostle Paul set a highly emulative example of work culture. In 2 Thess 3:7-10, Paul was found working and laboring with his own hands to earn his own maintenance throughout his first, second and third missionary journeys. In 1 Thess 2:9 he and his companions worked for living nights and days. In 1 Cor 4:12, he and his companions worn themselves out working with their own hands. During the period of his stay in Corinth for more than one and half years, Apostle Paul earned his own bread by joining Acquila and his wife Priscilla in the trade of tent-making (Acts 18:2-3). He and his companions earned enough by the sweat of their brows to meet their needs (Acts 20:34) and (Acts 2:34). Working with one’s own hand for self-reliance is obviously the Slogan of Apostle Paul (1 Thess 4:11,12).
2. Dignity of honest toil: The Jews glorified dignity of honest toil, “He who does not teach his son a trade” they said “teach his son to steal”. A Rabbi among the Jews did not take pay for the teaching. He must have a trade and must satisfy his daily needs with the works of his own hands. So there are many Rabbis who are Bakers, Carpenters, Masons and who followed all kinds of trades. The Jews believed in the dignity of honest toil and they were sure that a scholar lost something when he became so academic and so withdrawn from life that he forget how to work with his hands.
Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel did all domestic chores - cooking, washing, tea preparation, sweeping etc. all her life in spite of an exceptionally heavy grueling demand upon her time and labour in the Office and outside. In Kibutz she cultivated and sustained tough going culture after migration at the age of twenty from America to Israel with her husband. Throughout the long period of her political life in Israel, she sustained and perpetuated the tough going culture till her death. She did not consider it unbecoming of her high Office as Prime Minister of Israel to do all kinds of household chores by herself without employing a servant.
On his way to Rome, Paul and the Ship’s Company were stranded at Malta Island with 276 members of a crew. At night a bonfire is to be made with brush wood. Paul did not consider it unbecoming of him to volunteer for collection of brush wood. We can see that for all Paul’s visions he was an intensely practical man. Great man though he was, he was not ashamed to be useful in the smallest things.
Booker Washington was the greatest scholar and administrator of the Negroes in America. He in his youth walked hundreds of mile to one of the few universities which took in Negro students. When he got there he was told that the classes were full. He was offered a job at making beds and sweeping floors. He took it and he swept those floors and made those beds so well that before very long they took him as a student.
Socio-economic growth is nothing more and nothing less than sustaining, cultivation and motivation of work attitude. In developed countries like Germany, Japan, Britain, America etc. honest toil for livelihood is glorified and dignified to the extend of working to the point of exhaustion when they work and to the point of exhaustion when they play. Work culture is to be cultivated and practiced, teaching by deeds not by what we said. All of us are to build our Christianity in with any job/work we did.
3 Work Culture of Jesus: We have the example of Jesus himself as a worker. He was the carpenter of Nazareth and legend has it that he made the best Ox-yoke in all Palestine and that men came from all over the country to buy them. A tree is known by its fruit and a man is known by his work.
4 Work attitude of Col. Davenport (USA): In 1780, The Connecticut House of Representatives was in session. The skies at noon turned completely dark one day. Men and Women fell on their knees and begged a final blessing in their simple belief that the end was coming. Many of the members in the House clamored for immediate adjournment of the meeting. At this, Col. Davenport, Speaker of the House came to his feet and silenced the commotion with these words: “The day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought”.
The option of the Speaker to be found doing his duty till the expected Day of Judgment is the right work attitude for all of us to get ingrained into. It is considered imperative for all of us swearing by Christianity to emulate the attitude of the Speaker.
5. Work example of Governor Marie Cuomo of New York : Governor Marie Cuomo would never take a vacation if he could avoid it. When he does go away, he is almost constantly on the telephone with his staff. Aide and long-term friend Fabian Palomino says, “He can relax, but he gets his energy back in a very short time”. “The one great sin” Cuomo firmly believes, “is wasting existence”. He will do anything he can to occupy his time, even if it is cleaning the oven. “I look forward to filling my day” he wrote in his diary after his election in 1982. “Cleaning, arranging, working, catching up, putting things in order. Never leave moments totally empty. If you are too tired to read or write or think, do something you are not too tired to do. Clean the refrigerator. Rake the leaves. Shine the shoes”.
The message from the lifestyle of Governor Marie Cuomo is that every one of us should never leave moments of our working hours entirely empty, lazy and idle. His life style is also a complete negation of sedentary life style worthy of emulation by all of us.
6. Work culture of the Japanese: The Japanese Workers worked feverishly and relentlessly as if they were digging trenches on the frontlines of the battle. A foreigner visiting Japan had the actual experience of coming across two well-dressed young men cleaning up his car voluntarily while parking it at an oil depot. The lesson from the seemingly peculiar behavior of the two Japanese young men is that they do not allow a few moments of leisure and idleness in their lives.
There are only two job classifications in Japan: skilled and unskilled. Depending on what need to be done on a given day, a worker may perform a variety of jobs. If the floor is dirty, he will pick up a broom and sweep it without worrying about whether that is a part of his job classification. Naturally, this sense of responsibility leads to much greater efficiency.
The Japanese worker is highly disciplined. If something is crooked, he will straighten it. If there is a problem on the assembly line, he will stop the line until it is fixed. These guy have a lot of pride. They see their work as a mission. You do not hear stories in Japan about workers showing up with a hangover. There is no industrial sabotage and no visible worker alienation. Some Japanese companies had fined supervisors because so many of them insisted on working on holidays as well as on their days off.
7. Negation of work culture by too much leisure: Too much leisure is negation of work culture. Paul B. Smith says that it is the idle hand that practices evil and idle mind that conceives sin. The most dangerous thing for any man or woman is to allow himself or herself to have too much spare time in idleness and to let his or her thoughts wander without control and discipline. In Churachandpur District and in other parts of Manipur, our boys and girls were given too much leisure and too much spare time to practice evil and to conceive sin after schools and at night. The consequences of leisure culture is staring us everywhere among the youngsters.
8. The need of avoiding sedentary life style: The assertion and affirmation by HK Bakhru, a renowned Naturopath and internationally famous proponent of nature cure is that the most important factor contributing to health and longevity is physical activity to keep the muscles firm and strong but also the activity of the mind to keep the thought process and emotions flexible. Nothing is more ageing than boredom and idleness. Lazy people did not live long. Many and varied interest should be developed so as to keep oneself fully occupied mentally and physically. The mind is at its best when occupied usefully and constructively. One should not worry about using up one’s brain. The brain is a sturdy organ capable of giving efficient service for a hundred years or more. Not using it can lead to mental deterioration. The mind should always, therefore, be kept busy with subjects that are absorbing, preferably that those present a challenge and stimulate and develop thoughts. The finding of US experts is that sedentary life style is unhealthy and that exercise will reduce disease and death. Physical activity is a key to robust health, long life and good looks. Moderate exercise involving walking and jogging is a necessity for all of us.
9. Fructification of Work Culture: Working by one’s own hand, labouring to earn by the sweat of one’s brow is the most conducive factor for moulding the mentality of the youths and the old. The centrality of work in human life is the indispensable foundation stone for socio-economic growth. The character and personality of a man is shaped and moulded decisively and formatively by working and labouring. The person who is working and labouring is sure to be disciplined, self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-educated, self-confident, self-cultured, healthy, wealthy and wise eventually to the maximum benefit of the community and the country.
End Notes and References
1. Work example of Apostle Paul: 2 Thess 3:7-10, 1 Thess 2:9, 1 Cor. 4:12, Acts 18:2-3, Acts 20:34, Eph. 4:28, Acts 2:34, 1 Thess 4:11, 12.
2. Dignity of Honest Toil : (i) The Daily Bible Study, The letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians, William Barclays. Indian Edition Published by Theological Publications in India, St. Peter’s Seminary Malleswaram, West Bangalore- 560055, India. Pages 218-219. (ii) News from Israel, September 1968, Published by Consulate of Israel, Bombay. (iii) The Daily Study Bible, The Acts of the Apostles - William Barclays. Pages 187-188.
3. Work Culture of Jesus : The Daily Study Bible. The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians - William Barclays. Pages 218-219.
4. Work Attitude of Col. Davenport (USA) : The Quotable Mr. Kennedy Edited by Gerald C. Garner. Published by Abelard Schumann Limited. 8 King Street, London.
5. Work Example of Governor Marie Cuomo of New York. Readers’ Digest, July 1989.
6. Work Culture of Japanese : Iacocca, An Autobiography Lee Iacocca with William Novak, Printed and distributed by Special Sales Department, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York.
7. Negation of Work Culture by too much Leisure : Naturopathy for the Elderly by Dr. HK Bakhru, Orient Paperbacks (A Division of Vision Book Pvt. Ltd) Madarsa Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi - 110006.
Source: GANGGAM.COM
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=3d8c18a9-7275-4590-8da9-e8746d7628fb)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ec4f5bd0-8449-46b5-9214-cb0b65259031)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=16fb3ef5-2515-4f37-a836-41789c19ec0f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=74cba725-f4e4-4567-ab1a-8d65f8a2bcc6)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=506823ce-86f2-4ffe-8173-68273cf8b272)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=0288ecaa-965b-4c25-88f8-a76d9df869d0)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f8c77c03-d212-47d7-b3fc-2dff196741e2)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=51d40fe7-21b8-424f-8096-3b0e9b2e3f28)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9e25b578-d72f-485b-b120-a2f61d2958e9)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5a73e5db-9314-4cbf-b444-67bd87be3213)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9075449e-0af8-4a39-89d2-5bd8ccc9c076)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8cba152d-5805-498e-9f41-dc218a97c2c8)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6da5e2f9-b51f-45b9-9660-dc80be6d756f)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ac145b42-5fd3-42bc-90b6-f73c9409b636)