The Tools for Good Works

There is an old adage, “a craftsman is only as good as his tools.” Trying to complete a project without the right tools is a lesson in frustration, anxiety, and ultimately, disappointment. Chapter Four of the Rule lists many tools, as Benedict calls them. He recounts the Greatest Commandment, many of the Ten Commandments, and teachings from the New Testament that are the standard content of previous rules. Benedict alone calls them tools. If they are tools, what project does Benedict have in mind? As he ends the chapter, Benedict assures us that if we use these tools we will be rewarded in heaven. Is the project to gain a reward? Such means-to-ends thinking does not fit the character of the chapter. Benedict’s frequent use of words typically translated love, value, and desire are a better indicator of the project he is considering. What are we to love? What should we desire? What should we shun?

It seems Benedict is telling us how to construct a good life. Is this the project? We all seek to create for ourselves a good life, and we think a good life is built with good works. Accomplishing good works requires the right tools, so creating a good life requires the right tools. Thus, identifying the tools for good works is essential for creating a good life. This reading is more conducive to the character of the chapter, but this is still means-to-ends thinking that does not capture Benedict’s point adequately.

I believe Benedict is saying something more essential. Employing the tools of good works is living a good life. Consider building a house. Taking accurate measurements, cutting lumber to precise sizes, and nailing boards together does not result in the building of a house. Using the tools of construction is building a house. The result is a house. The process and the result are different. 

Building a house is only an analogy and so falls short of fully illuminating its target – employing the tools of good works in living a good life. Unlike houses, our lives are never finished. Each of us will be working on our life until we die. Yet, we often live as if this is not true. We are nostalgic for the past, thinking some moment in time could be established forever. We wish the choices we made yesterday could free us from having to make choices tomorrow. We long for a future in this life that is set and in which we are able to rest and enjoy the rewards of all our work. A time at which we “have arrived.” Meanwhile, we judge others as if some single past action defines them for all their lives before and after. We claim that people don’t change because we don’t want to accommodate change. Since our life and the lives of those around us are never finished, our good life cannot be a result frozen in time. Our lives are always a work in progress. We must never stop using the tools of good works and encouraging others to use them as well.