Dignity Of Labor

“In the sweat of thy face thou shalt earn thy bread” was the Divine Judgement on the Fallen Man. Ever since man has been laboring hard to keep himself alive. He digs, drives and drags, tils the soil, works at the mill and does a lot of other things to keep his body and soul together. He may find his work unpleasant, but there is no escape from it, it is necessary, universal and in evitable. Life and labor are inseparable.

When life was simpler and society was less complex, the high and the low alike had to do manual work as a matter of course. But it is no longer so. The indignity attached to manual work is the outcome of the division of labour. The complex nature of the modern society and the introduction of machinery have helped to perpetuate and increase this sense of indignity.

It is only when some works are reserved for a few while the rest are given to the common man that the distinction arises. It is only when some men grow rich, powerful and important and find manual work too hard for them, that they set apart for the common people. These people in due course of time come to be regarded as inferior.

Later, the relation of master and slave arises.

When the work began to be completed with the help of machines men which continued to do that work started to be treated like lifeless machines and were looked down upon. This is how in course of time some works were regarded as low and undignified.

It is a sad state of affairs. For the foundation of all good works there must be joy and sense of honor. We can never do a work well if are constantly reminded that the work we are doing is mean and humiliating. We must be convinced that the work is useful and honorable. We must feel joy in doing it. So men, who are engaged in manual labour, must be made to feel the worth of their work and joy and honour to be derived from it. Honour is a legitimate spur and is its own reward.

So men occupying higher positions began to preach the dignity of labour in order to get work done by the workers. The simple and uneducated laburers came to believe in the truth of the assertion.

So in conclusion I would say that “Older than all preached gospels is the unpreached, ever enduring gospel, WORK IS WORSHIP.”