Why Hidden Work Matters
The remodeled kitchen was almost finished. Paint rolled smooth, cabinets hung straight, the room had the fresh smell of new beginnings. While checking coverage and smudges, I asked if she had painted behind the fridge.
“No one will ever see it,” she said.
She was right, and yet it still belonged to the room. So I slid the fridge back out, grabbed the roller and painted behind the fridge.
That phrase has become shorthand in our house for doing unseen work with the same care as what everyone notices.
The parable of the talents helps name why. A master, before leaving on a long trip, entrusts portions of his property to household staff: five talents to one, two to another, one to a third, each according to ability. The first two put the gift to work and each doubles the trust extended. The returns are different in size, yet identical in faithfulness. Both hear the same words: well done, good and faithful servant. That is the pairing I keep coming back to. Well done speaks to excellence. Good and faithful speaks to stewardship. Different levels of giftedness, the same devotion to use what was given.
The third servant tells a different truth. He retains what he was given rather than putting it to work. He made no investment, not even to earn interest. That is not caution; that is refusal. The story, for the third servant, does not end with a ‘try harder next time’. It ends with loss. Gifts are not meant to be shielded or buried.
When completing a task, project or any work effort, it’s like signing a completed piece of art. Signing is not pride. It is participation. It is a way of saying, I did my best with what I was given. And what I was given is way more than raw materials. It includes the level of giftedness I have received and grown, the time available, the team beside me, and the courage to use them.
Hidden work, like painting behind the fridge, is often subtle, more felt than seen. The quality of hidden work reveals the character of its maker. Excellence is often like that: quiet, steady and sure. It travels in restraint, in steady lines, in choices with little celebration which everyone benefits from.
Most of what we build will outlive the thanks or applause received. Many who benefit from our work will never know our name. Yet none of it is unnoticed by the One who entrusted the gifts and work in the first place.
So whatever you are tending, project or person or plan, make a habit of painting behind the fridge. Use the gifts you have at the level you have them. Leave a signature that says you honored the trust.
If excellence asks how we work, the next post looks at why balance and rest matter too-finding contentment and the prize worth keeping.
I’ll be sharing more reflections like this on work, calling, and leadership. If you’d like to follow along, the best way is to connect with and follow me on LinkedIn.
