On Work

Saint Augustine in his sermons resurrects the Christian notion of work as a result of original sin. “From this cup of sorrow no one may be excused. The cup that Adam has pledged must be drunk.”

Whittenberg Holy Roman Empire 1520, Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism makes momentous point that one can serve God through work of many different kinds and not just as previously argued by Catholicism, simply by entering the priesthood.

He proposes that the common work of a servant or a handmaiden can be more acceptable to God than all the castings and works of a monk or a priest. God is milking the cows through the vocation of the milk maid. For Luther, God has endowed each one of us with talents that can be used to help another around, which is how work becomes moral. Everyone undertaking essential tasks, he mentions cleaning, milking, donning, teaching is wearing, what Luther calls 'the mask of God', since God is behind each task. This Luther says, demonstrates God’s love. He ensures that we are endowed with qualities to look after one another through our work. Work for Luther, is therefore the best means to employ the doctrine of love thy neighbours. Protestantism is responsible for a momentous reevaluation of the worth and dignity of ordinary labour.

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