"A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep." -- John 10:12-13.
We know we should take ownership of our work and this verse from John's Gospel gives us insight about why. If you think of yourself as a hired hand, you may not take your work as seriously as you should. If you think you are only there to make the easy money, you aren't likely to stick around when the going gets tough.
But the world needs people who will stick around when the going gets tough. The world needs people who take ownership of their work. Doing your best means doing work that you are proud of, so proud that you would be happy to own it, that you would be happy to put your name on it. If you are just showing up for the money and really don't care what you do while you are on the job, we can bet the quality of the work will be lacking.
Certainly the story about the Good Shepherd is about more than putting in a good day's work, but the fact that Jesus uses a work analogy to make His point says something about work. Your work is important. The same way that you care for the things you own -- a home, a car, a prized possession -- care for your work.
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