What My Mundane Job of Being a Toronto-Based Parole Officer for Doctors Has Taught Me About Faith

Have you ever scrolled through social media and run into a post of that one person who either seems to be traveling every other month, trying new adventurous activities or has a cool occupation? The ones that have inspirational captions about how these experiences or their job really allow them to see God in these magnificent new ways?

All the while, you're on your couch, after a day of responding to emails, finishing daily routine tasks, and attending meetings that could have been emails, contemplating the biggest decision you have to make for the day—which turns out to be what you’ll have for dinner.  

This scenario happens to me quite often. My work revolves around medical regulation, which can vary from managing applications for aspiring medical professionals to ensuring they maintain certain standards (think parole officers but for doctors).

Now I know, at first glance, you think, “Andrew, this does not sound mundane at all!"

Well, let me tell you what my day actually consists of. I would say 95% of the work involves drafting emails with the same content just to different individuals, answering the same questions from external parties about processes at least 5x a day, following the same steps to finish a task, having the same small talk about weather with co-workers, and finally, my favorite, meetings to discuss the same process changes that never get implemented.

Do this for 52 weeks in the year, and you can see how work begins to feel mundane. You're constantly doing something but not moving forward in any meaningful way. I think to myself, “Is this the life God really has for me?”

That’s why when Ezra asked me to contribute to this series, I immediately thought he was either really desperate (which he was) or didn’t know the type of mundane work I do. At that moment, I couldn’t picture what my office job could reveal/teach me about my faith.

The Blessing of the Mundane

As I sat and pondered on my occupation and tried to grasp what relation it may have, I realized that I was overlooking a blessing that many others don’t have, and that’s stability.

We often overlook periods of stability in our lives and don’t take into account that having a routine, a fixed schedule, and minimal worries about unanticipated surprises at work or in life is actually not a bad thing. Of course, there are moments when it’s good to challenge yourself and step out of routine and comfort, but there are also times when you can thank God for stability.

Most Christians talk about “the hills and valleys of life” as if that's all there is. The hills represent the highs that God has brought them to, and the valleys are the low moments that God helps them navigate. However, I often find myself in a season where it’s neither hill nor valley but rather an even ground pasture, where things are stable and unchanging, and it’s there that I have to keep discovering and striving after God. 

It’s easy to learn about God and praise him during the highs of life, and in the lows, it’s easy to seek his face and commit to daily prayer or bible reading. It’s much harder doing all this while going through the mundane routine of your daily life, with no hill in sight to climb or valley to get out of. The world starts becoming this never-ending cycle, as noted by Ecclesiastes 1: 5-7, which says:

The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

This stage is often overlooked because what’s exciting about everyday life? Looking at my work and my fairly stable life, I’ve learned it’s here that I can find a relationship between how I remain committed to doing my work and my walk with Christ.

When you work an office job, during the first year, everything feels fresh. There is a sense of excitement, and the work feels purposeful, so you strive to learn more each day. However, as time passes, tasks become second nature, the excitement wears off, and now you are struggling to find the motivation to keep doing the work that at one point was giving you purpose.

This transition is similar to the journey a new Christian who just comes to the faith often faces. They start with a fresh zeal for anything related to God and seemingly encounter God’s presence in their lives in many ways. But over time, God doesn't reveal himself the same way, and that zeal is no longer as strong, which makes the daily tasks of reading the Bible less appealing, praying more taxing, and caring for others less fulfilling than they used to be.

So, How Do We Move Forward When Work Is Mundane?  

One way is to find purpose in the repetition. At work, the purpose that often motivates others to keep moving forward, no matter how unmotivated they are, is that if they stop, they’ll be unemployed and unable to pay bills, support their family,  or maintain the life they have. They realize what they lose is greater than what they gain.

In our spiritual life, the purpose we have is maintaining our relationship with God and the debt he paid for us on the cross. If we consider losing our relationship with God greater than anything we could gain, it serves as a drive to keep up with our spiritual disciplines even when they become repetitive and life feels empty. Remember, God is not lucky to have us living for him; it’s our privilege to follow him.

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Paul reminds us that anything we do for the Lord is not in vain. Nothing goes to waste.

I believe this also covers serving the Lord generally, in local ministry or church, as well as the prayers you keep on your lips, the neighbor (Ezra won't allow me to do "neighbour") you continue to love, and the passages you meditate on daily. God has a purpose for each aspect of our lives, and repetition can lead to greater dedication if a relationship with God becomes the goal and not a means to an end.

If you have a job similar to mine, know that a stable life is not a wasteful life, and dealing with the mundane is not useless. Don’t let the emptiness of your present influence the fullness of your future. Remember your relationship with God in the good times, bad times, and bland days. Even a “boring” job can teach you about your faith, and every “stable” life can show you more of the Savior.