Spirituality @ Work
December 2000

SAW Year End Giving Campaign

SAW Conversations

It's About Time AND Money

By Whitney Wherrett Roberson

Okay, so last time I talked about time: "It's About Time" read the title of these little musings. They were all about how the way we invest time says a lot about what we most value. I got the idea from philosopher Jacob Needleman who made the same point about money: look at the way a person spends his money, says Needleman, and you'll know a lot about the meaning of his/her life.

Now this is the season of the year folks heading little projects like ours talk about money - mostly, yours - suggesting that you might want to consider a contribution to their organization. Truth is, I hate talking about money. I was raised to believe that money was a very private matter: your personal finances were nobody's business and good taste dictated that you never raised the subject. And you never, never asked someone for money. So here I am, like everybody else: asking you for money. Good grief!

Yes, well, I've gotta push past that, I realize, because Needleman's right, of course, money does deserve our serious reflection. It is, in fact, an important part of spirituality at work - or put another way, an important aspect of our spirituality working, our spirituality incarnated so to speak. This was borne home to me a few weeks ago when I was chatting with a young couple who'd been asked to give a "stewardship talk" at the weekly gathering of their faith community. They didn't seem to share my awkwardness about talking about money. In fact, their attitude was matter of fact and refreshing. It went something like this: "Look, our involvement in this community adds significant value to the quality of our life. It enriches our family life, uncovers meaning we didn't realize was present and sharpens spiritual skills we find indispensable but might neglect were we not held gently accountable by the people we meet here. Of course, this 'value added' is going to cost something, and it's a price we're more than willing to pay."

I suppose their attitude shouldn't have surprised me: these were business people, after all, they did indeed recognize "added value" when they experienced it. And the added value they found within their own spiritual community is not much different that what we at SAW hope our own conversation communities will offer those who participate. For that matter, whether you participate in one of our conversations, log onto our website periodically or read this little newsletter six times a year, we hope SAW enriches your work life in some way, helping you discover deeper meaning in what you do or the way you do it, and occasionally offering some insight that hones your spiritual skills for workplace use.

What's that worth? I'm not sure I'm in a position to answer that one for anyone but myself. (And I don't think I'm just reverting to type here...) I can, however, invite you to take the question seriously as you consider your year-end giving. Is it a donation we're requesting here? Or is ours an invitation to reflect on the communities that add value to your life and on the fair cost of that "value added." Money is one of the ways meaning gets incarnated into our culture. Yeah, it's about time...and it's also about money.

 WYZ[\]