"An Overlooked Nuance"

Labor Day weekend generally marks the end of summer. It's often considered the last celebration before students return to school and regular routines resume. We seldom think about Labor Day and our work as a way to reflect the image and likeness of God, our creator. God reveals Himself to us through His creation. He works, and His work continues in our lives every day. Labor Day allows us to reflect on our identity as Armenian Christians and how we can integrate core Christian values such as honesty, integrity, and compassion into our workplace.

When we consider the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide and its profound and lasting effects on our people, we often focus on the monumental task of reorganizing communities and preserving Armenian identity and culture. However, we give little attention to how Armenians survived and thrived economically in every community established in the diasporan countries. The economic adaptation of our people, especially those who barely escaped death, witnessed much death and destruction, and settled into new countries with insurmountable language and cultural barriers, is not only genuinely remarkable, but it might be an overlooked nuance in our modern history. Migrant and refugee Armenians made a name for themselves by succeeding in their trades and gaining a reputation for being hardworking, honest, and successful. I believe that the Christian values woven into the fabric of our DNA throughout the centuries became the catalyst for creating a homogeneous creative identity among the Genocide survivors.

The reality we face today is vastly different. The idea of accumulating wealth rapidly often tempts us. Phrases like "passive income" and "striking it big" are commonly heard, and many individuals, including our community members, embrace these trends. When wealth becomes the ultimate goal in life, we experience a distortion in our relationship with God. Wealth gives us the illusion of being all-powerful, and therefore, we let go of our understanding of our need for God. Additionally, when wealth becomes the god we worship, we experience a distortion in our relationship with our family and friends. Trust and strained relationships lead to social isolation. However, when we choose to live a life where faith, work, and ethical decision-making intersect, we are actively contemplating God's image in us and living up to our God-given task in the accounts of Creation of tending and caring for God’s creation. 

Our Christian faith assists us in finding a healthy balance between ambition, humility, hard work, and integrity. This Labor Day weekend, I encourage you to reflect on the following teaching of Christ:

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.  If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 16:10-12).

Have a blessed holiday. 

Prayerfully,