. . . is the topic of my latest Trade Tripper column in this Friday-Saturday issue of BusinessWorld. Excerpts:
"But the best reason to work one’s best (particularly if you’re Catholic) is that a) whatever it is you’re doing comes with the fact that you’re there because God meant you to be there, and b) as we’ve been constantly taught during our school days — work is indeed prayer. Your work is a gift you offer to God (if you’re a student, your study is your work). Indeed, since you’d never offer a sloppy gift, in an ungracious and uncheerful manner, to your spouse, parents, children, or friends, why would you do so to God?
And note that Jesus, unlike most of our politicians, didn’t only just talk, He worked. He actually worked for a living. He worked rather than preached for most of His adult life. He wasn’t just some loquacious rich kid running for office merely because he had the dumb luck of having a father (or mother) for a politician. Before He taught, He worked. And He did great work, whether it be carpentry or preaching. Thus, it was said of Jesus: 'bene omnia fecit' ('He did all things well'; Mk 7:37). Remember that Jesus even got pissed off at the fruitless fig tree."
