Though written in 1934, this poem by T.S. Eliot vividly captures the struggling, empty soul of modern work life. The following excerpt challenged me today. May I encourage you to download and read the whole poem, discuss it with some colleagues, and determine to work and live to honor God.
What life have you, if you have not life together?
There is not life that is not in community,
And no community not lived in praise of GOD.And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads,
And no man knows or cares who is his neighbor
Unless his neighbor makes too much disturbance,
But all dash to and fro in motor cars,
Familiar with the roads and settled nowhere.Much to cast down, much to build, much to restore
I have given you the power of choice, and you only alternate
Between futile speculation and unconsidered action.And the wind shall say: "Here were decent godless people:
Their only monument the asphalt road
And a thousand lost golf balls."When the Stranger says: "What is the meaning of this city?
Do you huddle close together because you love each other?"
What will you answer? "We all dwell together
To make money from each other"? or "This is a community"?Oh my soul, be prepared for the coming of the Stranger.
Be prepared for him who knows how to ask questions.— an excerpt from Choruses From The Rock, T.S. Eliot, 1934
Download Choruses From The Rock
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TS Elliot
Working and living to honor God is clearly the purpose and meaning that TS Elliot is driving towards. It challenges me, not because I disagree with it, rather because I don’t know what that looks like—particularly with regard to work. How does that look for a business owner, or an accountant, or a computer programmer? I understand the words and can make a cerebral leap. As with many common phrases in the Christian life, I find them difficult to translate to action or behavior.
A Reaction
Difficult to translate into action?
I don’t think the issue is action, but rather reaction. We are to be reactionaries by the Grace that was given us, our lifestyles changing due to a mix of shame and gratitude for the idea of Grace and its saving values.
The important thing to remember is that T.S. Eliot believed that with the advent of modernism, humanity lost something vital, something amazing, the connection to God. It was a dark time, when people began to have such widespread doubts of the Lord that Christianity seemed to be an outdated set of beliefs, rather than the lifeblood of the human race.
Just my .02 cents.
Cheers,
Hurn