Lucho Llanca

Many people will agree that they are stressed out much of the time, but few will admit that their busy life and schedule could be causing it.  Let’s face it much of our stress is due to our busy schedules and always being on the run.

To be diligent and work hard at your job is a noble thing. And when we are at work we should be diligent and work hard. But the question is are you always working, even when your home or celebrating a holiday. Is it possible that others would describe you as a workaholic?

Quiz to find out if you are on the road to becoming a workaholic:

1.  Are you always in a hurry?

2.  Is your “To do” list always unrealistically long?

3.  Do you use days off to catch up with unfinished work?

4.  Has more than one person ever told you to slow down?

5.  Do you feel guilty when you relax?

6.  Do you have to get sick to take time off?

God is interested in your rest and recreation.  He wants you to live a whole, balanced and complete life.  He wants you to not be working all the time.  If you really give your life to Jesus Christ, He’s probably not going to add more on, as much as He’s going to take some things out of it to slow you down.

A CNN poll recently said that 59% of all Americans would like to slow down and relax more.  A Harris poll said we have 8.5 hours less leisure time than we did a decade ago.  We’re working more and enjoying it less.

Here is a prescription for pressured people — God’s way to RELAX.

REALIZE YOUR WORTH

The reason most people overwork is because they confuse their work and their worth.  We think that if we work a whole lot, achieve a lot, we’re worth a lot.  We confuse what we do with who we are.  In America, we get our primary identity from what we do.  When we meet someone, after we find out his or her name, usually the second question is “What do you do?”  We get our worth, we think, from our work.

The Bible doesn’t teach that.  It says we have worth regardless of what our work is.  Many of you grew up with a little phrase in your mind that says, “You’re a nobody.”  Maybe a teacher told you that.  It might have been a former friend. It could have been a brother, a sister or even a parent who said, “You’re never going to amount to much.”  The real reason many overwork is to say, “I’ll show them.  I will prove my worth by my accomplishments, my achievements.”  You never accomplish enough to feel satisfied. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt.” That’s not true.  Names do hurt.  Names last far longer than broken bones.  Many years later you’re still hearing a little inner voice that says, “You’ve got to keep paddling.  You’ve got to keep working.  Somebody may catch up. Somebody may get ahead of you.  You’ve got to prove your value, your significance, your worth, by keeping your nose to the grindstone.” And you seem unable to slow down.

An antidote is to realize what God says about you.  James 1:18  “God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made.”  God says you matter more than the rest of creation.  You can relax; you don’t have to prove your worth. Having been made by God you have great value.  You are who He made you to be and God doesn’t make junk.  If you really understand and feel what you are worth to God — not just know it, but feel it — it will change your life.  If God likes you, and you like you, but others don’t like you, that’s their problem.  You must not spend your whole life trying to win the approval of other people.  You don’t need the approval of other people to be happy and valuable to God.  But you do need to realize how valuable you are to God or you might go through life totally stressed out because you are always busy. Then you miss out on what life is all about.

Jesus said in Matthew 6 “… your heavenly Father feeds the (sparrows).  And you are far more valuable to him than they are.”  If God notices even when a bird falls to the ground and takes care of birds, don’t you think He takes care of you?

1.  It is hard for us to understand how much God really loves us.

2.  There is nothing you can ever do in life that will make God love you more than He already does.

3.  There is nothing you can ever do that will make God love you any less.  His love is not based on your performance.  It’s unconditional love.  It’s based on who He is and not what you can do or prove.

By Ron Corzine