The Illusion of Work

One of life’s great illusions is the illusion of work.

Work appears to have the power of meaning.  When we were kids, people asked us what we wanted to do when we grew up.  Not who we wanted to become.  Now that we are adults, the first thing we ask someone is "What do you do?"  All of this reinforces the lie that our value is tied to our work, or what we do.

Work also appears to have the power of provision.  If we work hard, we believe we will always have enough.  Not true.  While laziness is certainly not helpful, the idea that the harder we work the more we will have does not always work out for us.

Simply put, we have allowed life to revolve around work.  It’s how we cope.  It’s where we hide.  It determines our routine.  It changes our mood.  It shapes our perspective.  It affects relationships.  It threatens marriages.

Work is a part of our lives but work was never intended to be our lives.

Throughout the Bible, God reminds us we need to rest (Genesis 2:2, Genesis 3:17-19).  Resting even made it into the Top 10 (Exodus 20:8).  Jesus would later explain that this rest is protection for us...not just another rule we must follow (Mark 2:23-28).

When all we do is work, we become fatigued.  This affects our judgment.  Think of the number of regrets you have and how many of them happened after 10:00 PM!

When we are tired, we are weak.  We become more susceptible to temptation.  Several times God warns us to "stay alert!"

When we stay busy, we ignore God.  When God commanded us not to forget to rest, it also provided time for us to pause...take a deep breath...and remember Who gives us the breath we breathe.

Put the phone down.  Turn off the television.  Take a deep breath.  Remember what truly matters.