Article January 1, 1999 Issue

“stop stealing”

Marianela Toledo

In Argentina, there's an expression that's widely used to designate someone who earns a really good salary, or someone who has a job that doesn't require a lot of effort. That expression is “Stop stealing!” For instance, when an actor gets a new role, people might say to him, “Yeah, right, but... how much did you steal?” Or, they might say to a successful journalist, “Stop stealing.” This expression is most often used as a joke — but not always. Because I study journalism, I started thinking about this expression — and that made me think about the real meaning of employment.

I asked myself, What do I expect from a career such as journalism? Does everything I do have to be a real sacrifice, so people won't think I am “stealing”? I began to realize that, no matter what the nature of a person's occupation — being an architect, a lawyer, a publicist, a mechanic, or a farmer — we all reflect God in what we do. He's the one who provides all the good ideas for His children.

Once, I had a job where I worked under great pressure. I ran constantly from one place to the other, and my position allowed me to deal with every department in the company. Though I tried very hard to do a good job, someone would always reprimand me, mistreat me, or complain about me. Since I was very young when I began working — I was in the 12th grade — it seemed that my co-workers were taking advantage of me. They made me feel that I had to “pay my dues.” I felt I had to work twice as hard to prove I was doing a good job.

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