Chapter 33

How to Reconcile Work With Constant Attention to God

We cannot be without work and occupation. God gave us active faculties, which require exercise. Everyone therefore has their own work and occupations. They require attention; but, on the other hand, moral progress, which matters more than anything else, requires that attention always be in God. How can we reconcile these two? All work and occupations must be done as God’s work, imposed on us by God and dedicated to God. Then, in doing them, we will not lose God from our attention; for in this case anxiety is inevitable — how to do everything in a way pleasing to God. (4, 450)