Our Future Requires A Focus On God
As a junior in high school, the future is a common topic of conversation. Where would you like to go to college? What career are you interested in? What is your vision for your life? I like thinking about such things, but recently I was struck by a certain predicament: how do my career goals reconcile with my desire to live for God? They seem like two entirely separate subjects, whereas my life is only one. It seems my career goals could only be of a selfish nature; while on the other hand, I want to live as selflessly as possible.
It took some time to find answers, and again I found them in the Catechism. Paragraphs 2426 through 2429, specifically, clarified how my two imagined lives could be reconciled:
“In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature…Work is for man, not man for work…everyone should make legitimate use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to harvest the just fruits of his labor.”
Our work is not some authority that we must prioritize above or below God because we were not made to work—work was made for us, that we could better fulfill our purpose of living for God by making the best use of our individual talents.
It is only right that we should dedicate ourselves to God’s calling for us, as well, so pursuing success is only wrong if we do so out of selfishness and greed. This concerned me, though, because I also want to be financially successful and live in the comfort that the world of work can provide. How much of that wish is selfishness? Paragraph 2428 states, “Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family.…”
Given these excerpts, I realize that as long as I keep my focus on God, he will direct everything else in my life toward the good. I can work and make money to provide for myself and my family, “harvest the just fruits of [my] labor,” and at the same time be living for God by helping others with my specific, God-given skill set.
The way many issues are portrayed, it is difficult to see all the possibilities and the entire truth. It was difficult for me to understand that such a simple thing as work could relate directly to my purpose of living for God. However, many issues like this are not either/or choices. Rather, God designed everything to function together for a purpose.
