Recently, my family and I travelled to the Lake District for a family holiday and in between walks, swims and boat rides, we found time to visit an ‘arts and crafts’ home.
If you are not familiar with the movement, essentially it was a reaction by a group of thinkers in the late nineteenth century against the increasing move to mass production.
Instead, they set out to promote traditional craftsmanship with a focus on the skill and individual style of the artist. They promoted the idea:
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
Made to last
The house we visited was full of creatively and carefully-crafted works, made to last.
As we walked around the rooms of the house, our guide stopped to point out the dining room table. The top of the table was beautifully crafted, but he pointed out that the designers cared so much about their work that even the underneath of the table was intricately designed, even if most people would never notice.
The moment stuck with me. It is an approach and an attitude that challenged me in my work.
‘Not as good as them’
I fell into a career in housing with a local authority. At first, I felt a sense of importance with my new job title, receiving a pay cheque and a feeling that I was making a difference.
The novelty soon wore off though, and my enthusiasm waned. I couldn’t help feeling that my job was not important enough. Its a job where you can receive a lot of criticism and very little positive feedback.
Do you remember those moments when you look at your friends, or family members, or maybe a well-known figure and you just think: ‘Wow, look at how amazing they are,’ and then, ‘ah, and look at me – if only I were as good as them.’ Often, if I’m not careful, I can slip into this mindset.
But God has confronted me on my heart posture and has been changing the way I viewed my work.
Trusted
I was reading through Luke’s gospel when the Holy Spirit spoke to me through this verse:
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (16:10)
It struck me that believing in God means believing that the small things matter.
God sees all things, and if we can be trusted with little things, we will become people who can be trusted with much.
Complaints
The complaints department of a local authority is not the place to work if you want to receive any sort of thanks from your customers. I know they don’t owe that to me, but it is tough never really knowing if your efforts to resolve their concerns made any difference.
When I read Luke 16:10 I realised that my attitude to my work mattered to God and it was important to him that I did it with a heart that reflected this verse. I was determined my attitude would be one of the “right spirit” and someone who could be trusted with little, as well as with much.
This came home for me when a gentleman who had an application with us for housing assistance, had moved to new temporary accommodation following a violent altercation with another tenant. He needed help with issues in his new property and was not having any success in advocating for himself.
Comfort and relief
When the case came to me, I did my best to help, understanding that his concerns needed further attention. I kept in constant communication with him until the issue was resolved. The enquiry was then closed to me and the case progressed with the assigned Housing Officer.
A year and a half later, I happened to be reviewing his case file which was now closed and I found out that he had expressed thanks to me for the attention I had given at the time. He had said it had provided him with a sense of comfort and relief during a difficult period.
Under the table
The fact I was stunned shows how little positive feedback you get in jobs like mine. But it was also a great reminder to treat the roles and tasks that we are given with care and attention, because we never really know the impact of what we do. And even if no one else sees, we know that God sees everything.
Be encouraged: whatever you do, whether seen or unseen, can be done for the glory of the God.
We can make the underneath of the table beautiful, even if it’s not going to be seen by the crowd.
Let us see all we do as working for the Ultimate Craftsman, who wants to shape our lives with divine beauty, meaning and purpose.
Charis Odoki has been working as a housing officer for a London council for the past 3 years since graduating from university. She lives near Epping forest with her family.
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