I sat on the countertop as my mom shared the tragic news: My grandpa—Abe Horst—had died. A heart attack seized his last breath at the early age of 63. While reading the newspaper during a summer day in 1997, he passed. He was healthy and active and we were not ready to say goodbye. While our relationship revolved around my early adolescent affinities like pizza and beach vacations, I cherished him immensely.
I have learned more about Abe in retrospect. And the more I uncover, the more I mourn. Candidly, the pain of losing him is stronger today than it was then. I’ve learned Grandpa was an entrepreneurial risk-taker and a gifted manager. I’ve discovered he grew his real estate development company from 25 employees to over 600. I’ve visited his expert craftsmanship displayed in the buildings he constructed across the Susquehanna Valley.
In an interview on his leadership approach, Grandpa shared a value he held dearly.
Our people are a joy and a blessing. Absolutely, I would say that is where our success begins. These are not just warm bodies. They are tradesmen and craftsmen who can work with their hands. They can visualize, see the picture of a finished job in their mind’s eye long before it’s completed. They’re proud of the work that they do and that shows in the work they do.
From the farm fields to construction sites to executive suites, Abe demonstrated a truth he believed: God created us to create. And he let his workers know it. At his memorial service, hundreds of past and present employees lined up out the doors to share their respects. The volume of compliments we received from these workers astonished us. I’ve learned my grandpa was known for creating abundant time—even when he was the CEO—to visit his workers and sincerely affirm their abilities.
Work isn’t popular. It’s our cultural scapegoat, vilified for many reasons. Most-recently, a New York Times writer, Tim Kreider, penned a mostly thoughtful column on busyness, but lamented a widely held falsity.
The Puritans turned work into a virtue, evidently forgetting that God invented it as a punishment.
When we examine our culture’s caricatures of work, it sure seems like work is cursed. We suffer through the “daily grind” because we’re “working for the weekend.” After all, “it’s five o’clock somewhere.” In our Office Space culture where companies like Dunder Mifflin are normalized, it’s easy to believe work is inherently flawed. In God’s design, though, people weren’t strumming harps on angelic clouds. The Garden of Eden wasn’t a Sandals Resort. In Eden, we see Adam and Eve meaningfully employed to tend their property. The first action God took and command he gave was to work.
Nearly all the biblical heroes of the faith practiced a philosophy of vocation that was redemptive, not resentful. Joseph’s career began in the sheep pastures and ended in the Egyptian Oval Office. Lydia designed clothing. Jesus knew his way around a woodshop. Throughout scripture, we see workers modeling creativity, diligence and purpose.
My grandfather understood this and instilled it in those around him. When Christians allow cultural stereotypes to become our narrative, we ask the wrong questions: How long till Friday? Why can’t every day be a vacation day? In a stirring Labor Day editorial, Rev. Bill Haley suggests we consider work differently:
“How is my job creating good in the world? or “How is my job helping fix what is broken in the world?”
Kreider suggests work is cursed so we should do less of it. Grandpa believed work is challenging and it’s good for us. Work isn’t an evil to be escaped. My friends who are unemployed, underemployed or retired-without-purpose all attest: It’s miserable. Work is cursed only when we relegate it to its stereotypes. Hundreds of workers came to Abe’s funeral not because he gave generous vacation time, but because my grandfather understood God intended work as a gift to embrace, not a curse to escape.
Chris, this is a fantastic post about the value of work and how it is glorifying to God. In my experience, there are always some people who enjoy coming into work, and their positivity spreads throughout the office. It’s strange for people to see it, and sometimes people are jealous or embittered by it. What’s amazing though, is to see people persevere and be bold in their positivity, and how this joy can radiate through a workplace.
It sounds like your grandpa Abe embodied that joy in his work and through the people he touched.
Thanks for sharing!
blessings,
-Aaron
Aaron – Isn’t that the truth? When you’re with someone who understands why their work matters, it’s inspiring. It really is. Thanks for taking a moment to reply. Looking forward to seeing you next month in the DR!
Oh, Christopher, this was beautiful! I could add 10,000 more wonderful things about my dad (your grandpa) to this blog. He wasn’t perfect, but no one remembers those imperfections, we remember the amazing man of God that he was and how he showed love to each of his kids and grandkids. Thank you for sharing these thoughts on this man who I miss daily! You and your cousins have inherited a wonderful legacy! He would be very proud of you and excited to see how the Lord is using you! 🙂
Aunt Lou – Thanks for the note. We all miss him, but glad I was able to celebrate him through this post.
Chris,
The tribute you paid to one of the most special men that I have ever known, was so well written. He knew how to work and he made sure that we knew how to work also. There were times in my life when I was sure that his concepts of work were not right. Now in my older age, I wish I could thank him many times. He used to tell me(as my dad), “hard work will never kill you.” I smile when I think of that now, and hear myself telling my grandchildren that very thing. Oh, the lessons I learn from the wonderful “grandpa Abe” that you wrote about! They are endless!
I must tell you, that I know his heart would swell with joy if he knew what fine men his grandsons have grown up to be. It is every grandparents heartfelt dream. Your writings reveal a special heart and soul, and I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog posts. Keep it up dear cousin, and keep looking up.
I count it a privilege to wish you a very happy 29th birthday today! I thank God often that you were born into our family.
Thanks for the kind words! I’m so thankful for the legacy that he left that continues so strongly even today.
Legacy. It feels good to look back at your family and understand where values and natural abilities have come from. Thanks for sharing this reflection.
Thanks for the feedback, Isaac. He was quite a man.
Thanks for this post, Chris. I have fought against the cultural norm of celebrating days off and counting the hours until Friday. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a relaxing weekend and appreciate a Sabbath rest, but I’ve never appreciated the reprimands for “working too much”. The way I see it, it’s not painstaking toil; it’s a lifestyle. I don’t see a distinction between work and play or work and service to the Kingdom. What I do, where I work, is my place to push back the encroaching darkness. It is my service to the Kingdom. And oftentimes I find playful enjoyment in it as well. Here’s a related post I authored a few years ago: http://bretburchard.blogspot.com/2009/03/were-not-busy-were-called.html
Amen to that, Bret. Thanks for sharing. Indeed, there is perhaps no greater way for us to demonstrate our faith than to take joy in the opportunity to use our God-given skills and abilities to advance all that is good in our workplaces.
Chris,
First of all, I really appreciate the important line you walk here between challenging the worldly value of busyness (what I think that NY Times article was getting at) and the holy value of work, tending the garden. Your grandpa was clearly an excellent gardener in that sense.
I also, however, think it’s important to remember that while work was part of pre-fall Eden, toil was not. The ideal we’ve been given is to partner with God in caring for all He has made, and all we make alongside Him. But the reality we’ve inherited is that we can only do so from a place of imperfection, selfishness, and a tendency to either be lazy or busy (or somehow, in my case, both?) in our toil. I’m trying to figure out exactly what this means as I hone my understanding of vocation, work, creativity, and God’s design for each of these.
Nevertheless, this is such an important conversation for the Church to be having; it is a holy dialectic by which we discern our allocation of time, resources, and purpose in the daily life in the now-but-not-yet Kingdom. Thank you for your contribution!
One last thing: I really like this essay from Dorothy Sayers on work, and how the Church ought to approach the matter, and I think you’d appreciate it when you get the chance: http://www.faith-at-work.net/Docs/WhyWork.pdf