Finding God on the job - Greg Pierce

National Catholic Reporter, Feb 2, 2001 by ROBERT J. McCLORY

Meanwhile, Pierce's family responsibilities were growing along with his children. He was chauffeuring them to activities, attending their school plays and plunging into a career as a volunteer kids' baseball coach. Opportunities to explore spiritual realms were fewer than ever. He sought the advice of a priest spiritual director, who suggested he find something in his life to give up. "I thought about that," said Pierce. "I couldn't give up my family, my work, my coaching. All of these things were terribly important to me. So I gave up the spiritual director."

He decided he would have to find a spirituality that could work inside the myriad entanglements of his life, one that did not require a lot of time. "I wanted practices that could be done by anyone from a CEO to the person in the tollbooth on the expressway. They had to be things you could do regularly, that would not disrupt the flow of the workplace and would not offend or annoy other people." With the aid of his e-mail colleagues, he believes he has made a start.

Here then is a sampling of the practices that have emerged. Some are mind-boggling in their simplicity, but none works without a hefty dose of self-discipline. Anyone who practices them regularly, Pierce said confidently, "will become holy."

* Surrounding yourself with "sacred" objects: Pierce recommends carving out a place in your workplace for pictures and other items that recall your roots and connections to family and community. They can be explicitly religious but they don't have to be. One memento in his office at ACTA is a tin box with a picture of old-time baseball players. It was given to him by a woman whose 17-year-old son had committed suicide. "Every time I look at it," he said, "I face the ultimate meaning of life, the sorrow of the family and the despair of the boy." It moves him to a quick moment of prayer.

People such as police officers or store clerks who lack an office are not barred from using small "sacred" objects like a medal, pin, belt buckle or key chain that connects with the larger realities. One of the e-mailers in the dialogue identified her constantly ringing phone at work as the reminder that God is getting in touch with her through the needs of others. The trick in this technique, said Pierce, is to refocus the objects from time to time or exchange them for something else when they become so familiar they cease serving their purpose.

* Living with imperfection: The ability to accept and even celebrate failures and shortcomings as well as successes relieves you of the heresy that you can do God's work on your own, said Pierce. "The cost of trying to be perfect is too great," he said. "You can expect to find at least two typographical errors in any book I publish because I do imperfect books. The amount of work it would take to get rid of those last two typos isn't worth the effort."

But aren't we supposed to strive for perfection in all things? Up to a point, said Pierce, noting that even creation has a lot of typos. He is fond of Woody Allen's saying, "If God is all-powerful, he certainly is an underachiever." Living with imperfection should be one of the easier spiritual practices, Pierce believes, since bosses, coworkers, spouses and children are often eager to call your attention to them.