Dirty Hands Mean Honest Work

Do you drive a garbage truck? Dig ditches? Clean out sewers? Bale hay? Attach doors to cars in an assembly line? Don’t beat yourself up because you have a nasty job or that you get dirt under your fingernails. Instead, be happy that you do an honest day’s work, and you are not a burden on society. In the grand scheme of things, you deserve the appreciation and commendation of your fellow citizens. 

Thieves steal the work of other men’s hands. Con artists trick people into giving them their money. Lazy persons depend on others to take care of them. Moochers take advantage of the generosity and sometimes carelessness of workers. Users bludgeon productive people with guilt and shame to get what they want. These are the parasites of society. They drag everyone else down by their indolence, both economically and socially. Their personal tragedy, however, is that they forfeit the dignity that comes from honest work. “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labor.” Proverbs 21:25 On the totem pole of job importance, desk jobs do not outrank manual labor. Let’s look at five personal benefits of working with your hands. 

Sense of accomplishment. Jobs that involve physical exertion are more apt to yield an immediate sense of accomplishment than the sedentary, key-punching types. After you’ve framed a house, poured a driveway, planted a tree, erected a fence, or welded two beams together, you can step back and look at your work and enjoy what you’ve done. Your hard work is rewarded. You can walk away and feel like you’ve done something. Sore muscles may ensue, but this is what people mean when they say, “it hurts good!” “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.” Proverbs 12:14  

Self-worth. Work delivers a positive psychological impact on a person, undoubtedly instilled by our Creator. When you feel like you’ve done something worthwhile, you experience a heightened sense of self-worth and self-respect. This is known as significance, or a realization that you matter, that you have your own unique identity. It springs from many sources, but physical labor contributes to that feeling in a major, tangible way. “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” Proverbs 31:13. Creating, building, installing, fixing something that makes a difference in someone else’s life lifts a person’s spirit. “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” 1Thessalonians 4:11.  

Self-reliance. No one likes to feel helpless. From the baby’s crib, we all begin our journey to independence. We struggle to free ourselves from our parent’s arms, to walk, to run, to explore, to learn, to drive, to move away, and to establish ourselves as our own person. When you can make things happen with your own hands, you develop a sense of self-reliance. The more you can do for yourself, the less dependent you are on others for your well-being, and the less beholden you are to others for your existence. No one less a personage than the Apostle Paul illustrates this lesson. “And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it.” 1 Corinthians 4:12. “And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.” Acts 18:3. “Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:8.  

Earned respect. An underlying cause for a healthy self-image is what others think of us. Some may claim that they don’t care about other’s opinions, but the truth is that all of us want to be respected. This may not mean that we are loved or even liked, but it does mean that we want others to acknowledge that we exist and that we matter. When other people in your universe of relatives and friends realize that you are a person to be reckoned with—especially with regard to your occupation—you can take your rightful place in the social structure. What you do for a living defines you in the eyes of others. 

Joy. God created us to be social creatures. We want to live in community, to have relationships with other people, to be mutually helpful to those around us. In this context, we get joy when we help others and do things that please them. This explains why workers experience a good feeling when their boss compliments them for a job well done, or why spouses love it when showing a husband or wife a finished project that turns out perfectly. Joy is the icing on the cake of relationships. 

These five reasons may elevate the worth of physical labor in the eyes of many, but an additional benefit can now be cited as well: longevity! A recent study indicates that a job that involves physical exertion is good for your health. “Now, though, the newest and largest study to date of occupational physical activity and mortality has some good news for those with physically demanding jobs. The new study, which involved almost half a million workers, finds that people whose jobs involve frequent moving and lifting tend to live longer than those whose occupations are deskbound. The results refute the idea that worktime exertions somehow are different than other exercise and instead suggest that, whenever possible, we should be on the move while on the job.” (The New York Times 07/02/21). No one should ever be embarrassed or feel inferior because they work with their hands. Indeed, you should celebrate your work as a great blessing and privilege.