The other day I was with Matt and he generously tipped someone who had done their job, but their job was really just to ring up our purchase.  I asked him why he tipped in that situation, and he said he tipped because that person is working, that person has a job and is working and he wanted to encourage that.  It was a simple but impactful moment to ponder.  It reminded me of a couple of things I had previously heard.  One was from the AAHOA convention when Laura Ingraham addressed the General Session.  Her parents immigrated to the United States from Poland, and she said she learned that through her mother, who took whatever work she could find, that “There is dignity in every job. Every job. No matter what you do.”  She said all of the jobs in America are important, and every employee should have dignity in their job.

The second thing it reminded me of was a radio show I had heard about how good for a man’s soul work can be.  The process of our work becomes as important as the end goal. The paycheck, while still important, becomes something of a byproduct of a richer pursuit. There are a lot of jobs that maybe aren’t what we really think we want to do, but work, no matter in what form, provides us an opportunity to serve others.  It provides us an opportunity to create and accomplish.  There’s very little fulfillment that can come from an unemployment line, and so a job is something we can be very thankful for.

Taken together, I believe there is no job that is too far below us or too far above us.  Your job is important, valuable, and dignified.  You are serving in infinite ways no matter what you find yourself doing—pulling weeds, pulling the night shift, or pulling payroll reports.  Those infinite ways include service to your co-workers, customers, family, friends, community, state, country and world.  Who would have thought a job was so far reaching?