To try and emphasise how people all have different jobs to do and all of them are important in different ways I asked them to think about all the people who had played a part in what they had done since they got up that day. Or rather I began by pointing out that I woke up because of my alarm clock and how many people were involved in making that, bringing it to the shop, providing the electricity and so on. I then talked about getting out of bed, a bed which many people had been involved in making, to go to the bathroom which again involved a lot of people in making it possible. Very quickly if we think about it there are thousands of people involved in our lives that we may never give a second thought to but in some way play an important part.

Instead of never giving them a second thought we should remember them and value the work that they do. Often it may not be glamorous, powerful or well paid but without them our society would not function. So we need to value what people do and recognize that all our different gifts and talents come from God Himself. If we do this then we can be the best that we are called to be without being jealous of the people around us or look down on the people around us. Perhaps some people need to remember that the work that they do has a purpose (and a very important part of that may well be to support their family). So the next time you squeeze toothpaste out the tube give a thought to all those who have been involved in producing it and give thanks to God for all the diverse gifts that He gives us so that we can function as a society.