It is important to remember that there is an inherent dignity in labor, just as there is an inherent dignity in man. Before Adam's fall, God gave Adam and his mate a job. They had a task, tending the garden. In our original blessed state, we were happy with work.
I was thinking of this today as I was mopping up after a toilet that had overflowed. It surprised me at first that I was able to face that task blithely. It was tempting from time to time to have a bad attitude about the situation. Honestly, no one likes to deal with an overflowing toilet. Whenever those thoughts rose to the fore, it occurred to me that I had to actually dwell on unpleasant aspects of the chore to be bothered by it. Thankfully, it was not hard to remember what so many saints have lived, that any task, no matter how small or menial, is beautiful if done out of love.
It was not hard to see this afternoon that no work is beneath you, but that you might be beneath the work, if you cannot see the dignity in the labor or perform the action out of love.
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