"A servant with this clause
Makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws
Makes that, and the action, fine."
There are, of course, people who feel that the God of religion means nothing to them, and has no appeal to make to them. To such people the last paragraph will be foolishness and its argument a stumbling-block. This is not the place to dispute the question with them. Rather, it may be pointed out that, if they cannot feel that they are called of God, they may at least be able to feel that they are called by "that mortal God" which we call the state. Their sense of vocation may connect itself with their loyalty to the state. They may believe that their duty consists in the faithful performance of the tasks of the sphere of life which has been assigned to them by society.
The value of a sense of vocation, whether inspired by God or society, may be put in very simple terms. The important thing in life is that we should be able to feel that the work we are doing and the life we are living are of some value and significance in the world.
Now, it is sometimes easy to be possessed by the conviction that we are necessary organs in the body-politic, integral elements in the life of society. During the War the shipyard worker and the engineer in the munition-factory can realise that they are necessary members of the community, and that in performing the tasks of their vocation faithfully they are contributing to the good of the state as a whole. But times come when the state seems
