May 1 is World Workers’ Day. The feast of St Joseph, the Patron of workers, also falls on the same day. The word of God that man does not live by bread alone is very true. All the same, man cannot do without bread. The effort to procure bread is an intrinsic aspect of human life. But in India, which is a land of spirituality, does an intense spirituality not lead the people to a kind of stupor, sloth and inactivity? Here we have more churches and centres of spirituality than factories. Is not reluctance to work the main reason for the economic backwardness of India?

True spirituality will not lead anyone to inactivity. Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, opens introducing the Creator of the universe engaged in the work of creation. It is only after six days’ labour that the Creator rests for a day. The Father is constantly working and so is the Son. "My Father is still working, and I also am working" (Jn 5:17). When God created man, he also gave the commandment to toil. "...Fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28).

When the Son of God became man, he wished to become a hard-working common labourer. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" (Mk 6:3). St Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, was also a carpenter (cf Mt 13:55). These references affirm that it is not below our dignity to do work, whatever it might be.

There are plenty of admonitions in the Bible against sloth. The book of Proverbs exhorts us to take the industrious ant as our model (cf 6:6-11). The words of St Paul are very sharp, "Anyone unwilling to work should not eat" (2 Thes 3:10). He translated this precept into action in his life even while he was busy with the work of evangelisation. "...with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you" (2 Thes 3:8).

Idleness is the chief cause of problems like sleeplessness, lack of appetite and obesity. If we work hard, we shall have a good appetite and sound sleep. The ability to enjoy food and to fall into deep slumber are blessings God gives only to those who work hard. Such people are comparatively free from illness.

Through hard toil we also enjoy mental satisfaction. The householder who eats his meal, which is the fruit of his labour, along with his wife and children, experiences immense satisfaction. Can the idle man ever have the same satisfaction? How great is the sense of fulfillment of the daily wage-earner who, out of his earnings, delights in buying clothes for his toddlers! A housewife enjoys deep satisfaction, when she sees the husband and children relishing the food she has taken trouble to cook without minding the heat, smoke and boredom of the kitchen. Can this satisfaction be had anywhere else? Hard toil is absolutely necessary for spiritual, mental and physical energy, health and growth. Labour is the indispensable tool and great blessing that God has given to man to help him develop the universe and himself to perfection.