Heigh Ho!

I didn’t see the original theatrical release in 1937.  In fact, my parents were toddlers then themselves. However, I did see it in 1967 when it was re-released.  And one of the songs became a part of the soundtrack of my growing up years.  The movie was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the song was Heigh Ho!

We sang that song anytime we started to go do a chore.  Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to work we go … and then we made up our own words after that.  In fact, we sang it when we were off to work, off to bed, off to town.  Pretty much any new activity was transformed into a grand adventure when it kicked off with the words Heigh Ho!  When I grew up and had kids of my own, I continued the tradition.  Now that the nest is empty, I still catch myself using it to let my wife know that I am headed for the office.

A few weeks ago, I previewed my intention to write about how our perspective on work can open us up to new adventures.  Just so you don’t think that I am not a man of my word, here it is.

Work often seems like a four letter word.  You know what I’m talking about.  It is a necessary evil if we enjoy things like having food on our table, a roof over our heads, and gas in our tanks.  We have to get up and go to work in the morning.  We don’t GET to, we HAVE to.  Why is there so little energy on Monday morning and so much on Friday afternoon?  Because of work!  The only time work seems like a good thing is when we can use it as an excuse to get out of something we enjoy even less than work.  “I’d love to spend the day shopping for new window treatments, dear, but I have to work.  Darn!”

Do you really want to spend over half of your life doing something that is such drudgery, albeit necessary for the previously mentioned benefits of room and board?  How can you head out for work with a Heigh Ho instead of a Ho Hum?

One recent morning in my personal devotional time, I came to this verse.  Ecclesiastes 3:22 – “So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here!” (New Living Translation)  Admittedly, Ecclesiastes can be a perplexing and sometimes less than enjoyable read.  But that verse really spoke to me that morning.  How is it possible to be happy in your work?

Sure, there are days that you and I might be happy about a particular activity within the day’s work.  We might be happy about an outcome that we have really worked hard to bring about.  But is it possible to be generally happy in your work?  Can your Heigh Ho be sung with a lilt in your voice rather than a sigh?  

I believe it can, but the secret is in the perspective you choose. If work is to make a living, it is an obligation to be endured. If work is to make a difference, it is an opportunity to be embraced.  If you work so that you will have money to live on, then it would be theoretically possible to have enough money that you wouldn’t have to work anymore.  That is, after all, the dream of some.  But if you work so that you can touch the lives of those around you or so that you can have a part in making your community a better place to live, then money ceases to be a motivating factor.  And when your work is an opportunity to demonstrate the reality of your faith, it takes on a whole new meaning. When you see that your life AND your work matters to God, then maybe an honest-to-goodness Heigh Ho is possible.

And maybe folks around you would see a little less Grumpy and a little more Happy.