Jun 297 min read

WORKAHOLISM: How to Strike a Balance

Updated: Jun 30

If the enemy of God cannot get Christians off their faith, he will try to endlessly distract them with worldly things. Overworked. Underfed.

Jesus says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29, AMPC).

When is the last time you heard anyone in the world offer you something like that? Chances are, you will never hear it from anyone other than Christ.

Rather it will be, “do more. You are not enough as you are.” In the world, it is not your “who”; it is your “do”. The issue with this is everyone has a different demand.

This “pinball machine” is not how God thinks.

Look up and find your rest.

Sufficiency is found in Christ Jesus—meaning those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior are made more than enough in Him. It is your “who”, not your “do”. Know your identity. Understand God’s claim has been staked in you.

“Come to Me you who are tired and overworked. I will give you rest. Ease, relief, refreshment for your soul. I care about you. Come to Me; come here. Learn all about Me. My “burden” is LIGHT. My “yoke” is easy to be borne. The rest of it can wait. We are—you and I—what’s important” (paraphrase, mine).

In other words, “I will not work you to death. I will, however, bring you to life. Know the difference.”

Are the demands of a career and other people

pressing every ounce of energy from you these days?

If so, please be gently reminded that we Christians are to “work as unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:23-24). He is not a slave-driver. He has set us genuinely free. He has given us great responsibility, yes. And has gifted us with gifts He wants us to use, yes. However, there is a balance we must keep, like an even scale, if we are to endure over time and respect our own lives and inner self right well.

Again, we are to work—do everything that we do—as unto the Lord for it is Him we are actually serving. The focus then, is Him. Not the world. We serve God with excellence, integrity, truth and honesty, love and directness, example—to the best of our ability—with Christian representation. In doing so, at the same time, we do not and cannot transgress against the balance of guardianship of our own hearts, our souls, for out of our hearts flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23)!

The Bible instructs us to guard our own hearts—our lives, our minds, our souls, our ENERGY. Our love (our energy) needs to be replenished at the SOURCE, which is only God, Who is love. There is no way to do this without connection. We must set a guard, keep a line, keep time, and establish a boundary. We each can only go so far…

But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26).

Part of discipline (being a Disciple of Jesus) is to FOLLOW HIM; to go off, often, to the mountain, in solitude, to pray—not only to talk to God, but to listen to God, to draw from God all that is needed, and to carry out the orders that God equips us to know and to do (all the good things we can deliver to the fallen world, as obtained directly from Him).

We have got a world full of enough evil. It wins when there is not enough goodness to overcome it (Romans 12:21). Christians who do not TAKE the time back from the world, and even well-meaning people or organizations, starve themselves from the art of dispensing good.

Thou shall not steal.

Demands that are too much, for too long, require you to set a boundary, to give your first fruits to God and no one else.

Don’t become a weary saint and accept this life is only indentured servitude. Rather, keep your side of the deal and “COME TO ME.” Make way for holy enjoyment. If you don’t, you run out of anything effective to give for the Kingdom of God.

Hard as it may be, at least perceptually, to do (when you really want to do well) is to say “no” to other people in your sphere, so you can say “yes” to God. It isn’t popular, but do it, or good-meaning people will put you off your post of observation.

One-on-one meetings dedicated to ONLY God and you, and no one else, are imperative to success.

Other people will get a closed door, and God will get an open door. This must be if you want any beauty or light or vibrancy in your days; if you want any meaning, sense of purpose, or motivation within you. Jesus stands at YOUR door and knocks. He needs a kind entrance, your attention, your love, your companionship, friendship, and worship.

The truth is plain: The one whom God sets free, is free indeed. God does not want slaves; He wants a relationship.

Isn’t it ironic that the God of love, Who is love, only wants love in return?

To me, this means there can never be enough of it this side of Heaven. We are only ever building it up—so much more important than any other legacy, and it means loving God and oneself, not solely other people!

Read, carefully, these words and recognize the order and the balance:

He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love (1 John 4:8).
And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.
The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31).

If you do not love or take care of yourself and guard your relationship with God, this is not loving other people, for your relationship with God and self (soul/life that He has given you) is the foundation of anything you have to give to others. Respect this order, and do not invert it.

Satan accuses the brethren by perverting a few minor things, getting them backwards in our minds (deception) so that the end course is grossly missed (sin). If he can convince good-hearted, hard-working people they need to give so much that they kill their own souls and their own relationship with God, he has outsmarted them.

Remember, Jesus says, “Learn of Me.” It is a component of rest, a safety net, life insurance. The Word tells us to keep God first, to guard our hearts, to love others AS WE LOVE OURSELVES, to love God with our whole hearts, that we have been set free (and are therefore NOT slaves)… Stand your ground. Live by the Truth that you know so no one steals your crown. We are only Christians if we follow the WORD, which is Christ Jesus.

The test here is: God comes first.

We who profess to believe this must keep it true in our own case. We must keep our standing appointment with the One Who made us and sustains us or it will all fall apart.

Grace only comes from one place—the heart of God. You need to know it, feel it, be acquainted with it by spending quality time.

Practically speaking, make certain you take the time to plug in and fill up. Recharge by being in His presence. Get some rest. Do not be so hard on yourself to perform perfectly for every person. Rather do your best for God for He is actually and truthfully the only One Who gives you a paycheck, a position, employment, favor with other people, grace for your place, teamwork for your team, productivity for your endeavors, and so on—whether you are placed in the country, the city, the sky, or the sea. Running on empty is a hazardous gamble of which we are all aware, but ultimately the underlying problem is we are neglecting the companionship of Jesus Christ—a far more serious issue.

Stop running away from Him. Whatever it is, open the door and talk to Him. Look Him in the eye. Have a conversation. No one else matters.

Rest and seek the Lord.

May God bless you and the rest of your soul and the work of your hands through which to glorify Him, forever. Amen.

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Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me (Exodus 8:1).

So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free (John 8:36).

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour (1 Peter 5:8).

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows; John 10:10).

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REFERENCES:

DAWN DYSON