When Work Becomes a Faith
I just finished Un Royaume by Emmanuel Carrère, an unsettling book about the birth of Christianity. One idea stuck with me: faith offers relief from the burden of being the captain of your own life. You surrender your choices to God, and in exchange, you gain peace, or at least legitimacy and belonging. You’re no longer alone in the storm.
I never knew that kind of faith. But I think I found something similar in work.
From school to my various jobs, the path was clear: be productive, climb, deliver. Not that it was linear — I veered, stumbled, changed direction — but the destination was always the same: be useful. Work gave me structure. It told me what to do, when to do it, and how to measure myself against others. Hierarchies were clear. Roles were assigned. My anxiety about “what next?” was muted. When boredom crept in, say on a Sunday afternoon, I’d open a scientific paper, reply to an email, or tweak a spreadsheet. Instantly, I felt useful again. Validated.
It was comforting. And that’s the problem.
That’s the trade-off, isn’t it? In exchange for purpose, belonging, and certainty, you give up freedom. You accept decisions you don’t agree with. You let your life orbit around someone else’s calendar. Just like in religion.
Now that I’ve stepped off the wheel, freedom feels… vertiginous. I catch myself scrolling through job ads. Not because I want to go back, but because I miss the script. The certainty. The belonging.
A day without work? It starts with silence. I walk, I read, I write, I stare at the ceiling. I open my laptop. Then close it. I wonder if I’m wasting time. Or finally living it. There’s no boss to impress, no deadline to meet… and no script to follow. It’s terrifying. And beautiful.
Carrère didn’t solve my struggle. But he helped me see it differently. What I’m experiencing isn’t unique. It’s not even new. It’s just a very human need, shifted from faith in God to faith in Work.
Good to know.
And now what?
Maybe I should try faith in Nature.