In today's society, success is determined by how hard you work to be good at what you do. So we work hard, and push ourselves to unfathomable limits. After all, what could be better than being successful, right? While it's really quite incredible to see the great feats human beings can accomplish when they set their minds to it, the cost of success makes me wonder if it's really worth it.
You see, when we work ourselves to the bone, oftentimes we miss the things going on right in front of us. We become so introspective that the outside world hardly affects us as it should. Our families grow and change around us, and we miss out. We become exhausted and harden ourselves to things that matter. We become slaves to time.
God created us with a desire for greater achievement because we were formed in the image of somebody who is entirely perfect. We were made with creative minds and working hands, designed for greatness because our God is great. Unfortunately, we tend to fall short of that, and in our struggle to find our purpose through success and hard work, we make an idol of our time.
Making an idol of time may look like many different things, but all of them include keeping busy. We work too many hours, we go out too much, it can even be doing too much service. Serving others is a beautiful thing, but if we put service above God and family it becomes an idol even if it's beneficial to others.
My first year of college I was incredibly guilty of this. I took on everything I could and then some because I was told this was the way to achieve excellence. I lived by the motto, "work hard and never give up." And I did, but I suffered incredible consequences-- because although God created us to do great works, He also gave us limitations. We can get tired and burnt out. I certainly did, and recovering from that mistake is going to be a long and difficult process. You see, even a God who needs no rest took a whole day to do so. Genesis 2:2 kept a record. "On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work." He knew his creation needed limits to help them grow closer to him. So as I move into the rest of college and life in general, I hope to be a slave to Christ instead of a slave to business.
Mary and Martha in Luke chapter 10 are a prime example of learning to rest. Martha keeps herself busy with preparations and housework and becomes angry when Mary simply sits and listens to Jesus speak. But Christ says to her "Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things, but only one thing is necessary." He knew that if she worked all the time and never took a break to sit at his feet, she may miss out on the greatest gift of all: himself. Proverbs 23:4 says "do not toil to acquire wealth-- be discerning enough to desist." We need to understand that there is a time to work, but also a time to rest. We don't need to be busy all the time.
Rest seems like such a petty thing sometimes, and it's easy to take it for granted. With so much going on, it seems we have no time to rest. No time for a break. We must work work work in order to become what is expected of us. But the harder we work the more empty we become. Life is not about success and work. It's about learning to enjoy every aspect of this world we live in and glorify God through our experiences with them.
Rest in Christ and don't miss out on the beauty right in front of you. Make the most of time without becoming ensnared by it.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
