We live in a time when people depend on work, many find their sense of value and meaning in what they do. Being productive and useful means working, preferably doing everything possible as quickly as possible. Without realizing it, even when we are Christians, to say that we work to glorify God, we basically work to show the world and ourselves that we are important and meaningful. Thank God, this has never been a problem for me, I’ve always kept the job in the right perspective, at least that’s what I thought.
Among the countless things that could become an idol in my life, I never imagined that work could be part of it, because I have always seen it as a “necessary evil”, something that had to be done, whether I like it or not. . Until new opportunities arise at work, and with them more responsibilities and responsibilities, at first I didn’t think it would be a problem, but over time I realized that my biggest challenge would be to manage my own heart. idol factory. [1]
- I’ve always criticized hard-working people; people who have spent overtime working.
- Who have stopped having lunch a little more to work.
- Or who have postponed personal commitments to move forward or solve a work problem.
- For me it was unacceptable.
- After all work is only part of our life.
- Not in full.
- That’s always been very clear to me.
- But at some point I found myself playing the role I’ve always condemned.
- There I went out 30 minutes after work; there.
- I was wasting 10 or 15 minutes of my lunch to solve an “urgent” problem.
- Because “the world needed me” and my lunch could wait.
- When I realized.
- I was taking work out of the house.
- Nice feeling of self-realization.
- Something I wanted to feel more and more.
Work is a good and rewarding thing, God created it, but, like the rest of life, he tends to become an idol when we let him become the center of our lives, this happens gradually and unconsciously. Of course, no one plans to make work the center of their life, but when it takes longer and more time and aspirations, it becomes the main source of our pleasure and satisfaction. Although I was warned, I didn’t admit I was working too hard, for me everything was under control. Couldn’t I ever be? That kind of person? Addicted to work, after all, my dream was to take care of a house, a husband and children, there was no risk to me. Ledo’s mistake.
The heart is deceptive, more than anything, and hopelessly corrupt; Who’s going to know him?(Jeremiah 17. 9)
Over time, I began to notice that my pleasure at work was greater than my pleasure at rest, I needed to produce frantically, I felt uncomfortable at rest and even when I tried, I couldn’t. It’s time to fuel that feeling of productivity, to have everything under my control.
I remained in this frantic routine for about two months, until my forces began to run out. I could no longer overcome sleep and fatigue, my indisposition was visible, there were days when the hours passed, before my eyes, without me doing anything relevant, my to-do list was only getting longer. To be productive, I was exhausted; he was overwhelmed by a great sense of helplessness and frustration; that’s when the Lord began to speak to me and reveal to me the idol I was building in my heart.
But since work itself is not a bad or sinful thing, how can we identify the idol?How do you know when work ceases to be a service to God and becomes an idol?It’s not always easy to identify, but here are some clues. :
God did not give us the work as an instrument of self-realization, but as an instrument of sanctification; not as an instrument of self-chlorination, but as an instrument of humiliation. Through work, we realize our limitation: God reminds us daily that work does not survive because of us, but because of us. God reveals his sovereign and glorious hand that brings all things to the main end: his glory.
Abandoning an idol is not easy, the way is arduous, but the first step is to put the work in the right perspective, reminding us every day that it is not about us, but about God, it all depends on Him, nothing on us. I write these words, not as someone who has already succeeded, but as someone who continues to fight. If this is also your condition, you should know that you are not alone, you have a combat partner here. Let me share with you some practical advice, that have helped me in this direction, I pray to God that I can put them into practice:
The Word of God gives us the motivation to dedicate ourselves a lot to work, because through it we glorify God; consolation so that one does not get discouraged at work, because the work is already finished; and humility to recognize that all our work is but a grain in the immensity of God’s glorious work. The work of our hands will only make sense if it points to Christ, the end, the purpose and the glory of all work.
If my strength is in the work of my hands, I will be overcome by pride or crushed by failure, but if my strength is in the Lord, the work will simply be what God has created: a dusty path, through which the glory of God manifests itself.
A fraternal embrace of your sister, victorious in Christ
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[1] Joo Calvino, 1536.