POOP GLITTER 🦄✨.

It was February of 2020. I accepted a position working with PBS on a documentary series about “the world of work”. (If you noticed the date, you can anticipate the irony… but that’s another story for another time). During the pre-production phase, we interviewed tons of expert voices- doctors, authors, professors, you name it. One day, we interviewed a woman and she used a phrase that I’d never heard before.

She said, “America has adopted ‘toil glamour’. Somehow, we’ve glamorized the grind of work and productivity.” The phrase stopped me in my tracks. Almost instinctively, my mind pictured a steaming, heaping pile of poop on the floor with glitter piled on top of it. Very demure, I know.

The phrase “toil glamour” stuck with me and my producers as well. We could sense the irony- As a small, four-person team, we were pounding the production pavement too. My boss didn’t get much sleep. I was determined to make the most of the opportunity- getting in early and leaving late… racking myself with anxiety about my efficiency in my new role. In fact, I’d just finished posting on Instagram about my 2nd cup of coffee- a testament to all of my hard work and lack of sleep.

America has a few religions- politics and workism. The “American Dream” is veiled in broken promises contingent upon the grind. We weren’t always like this. We spoke to a professor, Benjamin Hunnicutt, about the lost art of leisure and suggests that placing our identity and holistic human satisfaction in our work is dangerous. Today (2019), 8 in 10 Americans are afflicted by stress, according to a recent Gallup survey, which suggests one of the primary causes is work. 

Contrary to what the media says, there is nothing “glamorous” about working yourself to death. “Death” isn’t hyperbole. Your body needs rest. Working crazy long hours can cause cardiovascular health and weaken your immune system. Doctors and scientists are starting to find correlations between lack of sleep and dementia in patients.  We have to find a way to prioritize rest. It's a way of honoring the temple God has given you.  

The Bible talks about the importance of work, but also emphasizes the importance of rest. Psalms 127:2 says, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.” In fact, in Mark 6:31, the disciples are LITERALLY doing the work of Jesus and even HE tells them to “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Jesus was a master rester. Time and time again in scripture he’d work hard, and then pull away to rest and recharge. 

Allow me to be clear: Americans have made their work an idol-  depending on it whole heartedly to give us identity and purpose. We push ourselves tirelessly, thinking that it’ll give us the soul rest, satisfaction, and approval that only God can give. The phrase “toil glamour” reminded me that Satan comes disguised as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)- presenting created things as a trade off for the creator.