vladimirgrebenar 
When we think a little better about the key areas of our active work during our lifetime, it is easy to see that we spend almost one third of our lives in education for the life profession and the work in the profession we have chosen. The second third of the time belongs to ourselves or the time we want to spend with family, friends, spirituality, recreation, etc. Finally, the last third of the time refers to rest from the first two thirds, or sleep and preparation for a new day. However, when we sleep we are passive and unaware of our existence.
If we continue to think about the same, it is easy to conclude that we spend almost half of our conscious active life learning to work and work itself, and many would surely agree that this time is even longer if we take into account travel time to work and from work, preparations at home for education and work, active vacation from work, etc. Certainly, at least half of our active life is related to personal and professional growth for work and activities related to the work itself. We achieve life goals through work and it is important what we do, how we work, in what conditions, with whom, what is the purpose of our work, etc.
We want to do what we love and choose jobs that achieve life goals, we want jobs that we have preferences and that we estimate contribute more to the quality of our lives, self-realization, job satisfaction and the feeling of doing something that builds us and makes us better. The work with which we achieve our life mission is called a career, and we choose those jobs that we consider at a given moment to be the best choice for our career. People who work have a career regardless of profession and education.
We could conclude that half of our active life belongs to work in the world and that the Church has nothing to say about this area of our life, that is, as if the gospel message cannot refer to professional work, but only to our free time and personal choice. Many say that faith is the free choice of the individual, that the state should be secular, that nothing should be imposed on anyone… However, the fact that faith is the free choice of the individual and that the Church as an institution should not review labor law is only half true. Where there is half the truth there is a large area to indulge half the untruth.
Christians believe in God the Father through the revelation of the Son. The Son revealed God the Father in three years, from the thirtieth year when he left his home in Nazareth to the thirty-third when he was killed and resurrected. Jesus revealed the Father in just three years, and from his early youth until he left Nazareth he was a laborer, moreover he worked with his stepfather St. Joseph. Scripture testifies to this. Although the Bible does not say much about Jesus’ youth and work, what is written is enough to show that Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6: 3). Moreover, he was an entrepreneur who managed the business for some time after the death of St. Joseph. Why was Jesus a carpenter and what is God’s message to us?
Since the time of Jesus, when labor was a manufactory, primitive agriculture or fishing, today practically most of these crafts do not exist, and auxiliary tools in agriculture and fishing from that time are no longer used. However, today in the modern world there is still the craft profession of carpenter. Craft high schools in many countries enroll students in carpentry, and currently there is a greater demand for carpenters than supply in the global labor market.
God seems to have decided that Jesus works on earth as a carpenter, and it is obvious that this craft will never disappear. Jesus spread the gospel for three years and worked as a carpenter for at least twelve years. The question arises as to whether Jesus did the will of the Father when he worked as a carpenter or whether this work is an area of life that Jesus himself chose and has nothing to do with His later mission. How could Jesus have a relationship with the Father when he could not pray while working?
Scripture tells how Jesus was in a relationship with the Father in prayers overnight and often on the hills. Where was the Father in the workshop with the Son? Somewhere on the side watching the work, or above the workshop, maybe all around…?
Jesus told the disciples that He and the Father are one and that they were one even before Jesus came to earth and that whoever saw Him saw the Father.
We know that Jesus did the will of the Father, not his will throughout his earthly life.
In other words, the Father was in Jesus and with Jesus when he worked, that is, God was in the work itself. Following the example of Jesus, God obviously wants to tell us that work is an area of life that also belongs to God and that the worker should have an attitude towards work in a way that recognizes the Creator in work with whom he has a relationship, but in a different way from prayer.
Is there an even more hidden message about work that is important for our time? Modern work is marked by the fourth digital revolution, advanced technologies, automation and robotics, new ways of thinking, working and living. It seems difficult to convey the gospel message of Jesus ’work in today’s work where there are fewer manual workers and more programmers, designers, managers, in our time where workers are replaced by machines and robots.
Do today’s professions have anything to do with the profession of carpenter from the time of Jesus? In other words, how to recognize the significance of the message of Jesus the carpenter for today? The carpenter in Jesus’ time had to have a picture of an object in his imagination to make (a vision). He had to organize his work for the next few days (plan). He worked with hand tools for known and unknown customers (quality). He precisely processed wooden objects (excellence). He had to have skill and art (creativity).
Work on one subject lasted several days (patience, perseverance, calmness). A carpenter’s job could only be done if there was a penchant (commitment) for that job. He had to be recognized as honest and fair in the community because he could not sell products (ethics and social responsibility). Literature from contemporary management and entrepreneurship abounds with descriptions of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and managers.
Research conducted in the last decade on the population of successful managers and entrepreneurs describes their characteristics as creative people focused on patient work, not profit, with a strong vision of success, characterized by perseverance, calmness, patience, dedication, share profits with employees, have strong sense of justice, encourage others to be creative, aware of their role in society, willing to give a share of profits and success to the wider community… The same values and characteristics are shared by successful modern managers and entrepreneurs as successful carpenters of the time.[1]
[1] The article was published with minor changes in: Veritas. Glasnik sv. Antuna Padovanskog. Croatian Province of St. Jerome of the Franciscan Conventuals. Zagreb. Sveti Duh 31. No. 1. January 2019. p. 10.