There's More to Life Than Work

Life is not about work. That’s not a very profound statement. Most of us know this and would agree. Yet we live like it is. We stress over our jobs. We give too much of our time and ourselves to them, at the expense of our relationships. 

I’ve wrestled with this a ton over the years. Sometimes I found my value and worth in what I did and how much I was paid for it. Most of the time I’ve just wanted to enjoy what I was doing and be paid well for it. A few weeks ago, I feel like the Lord dropped a neat little revelation into my heart: LIFE IS NOT ABOUT WORK.

When I look back in fifty years, the last thing I’ll be thinking about is work. Instead I’ll be looking back at the memories of this time with my kids. In a pandemic. 1`

So much of my fear and stress around work has to do with provision. Wondering if I’ll have enough. Wondering if my family will be ok (that old idol of control popping back up). But the truth is, life has never been steady for me. And yet, through all of the uncertain seasons, one thing has remained constant: God’s faithfulness. 

My stress and worry about work wasn’t about what I was doing, it was about me trying to secure a future. Trying to control the outcome. The future is not mine to control. More importantly, God has a long track record of faithfulness in my life that is unmatched. Why would I think He’s suddenly going to switch up and leave me hanging in the future? That my friends, is a lie of the enemy and we won’t succumb to that. 

There’s this old quote by Henry David Thoreau: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” We are yearning for more. Never quite satisfied. This desperation often leads to dark places. Too many of us live in a secret darkness trying to satisfy inner longings created by our dissatisfaction with where and who we are.

I believe the cause of this is a warped value system. We’ve been taught to pursue status and power. Our manhood is defined by strength, literal or relational. Our purchasing power determines our aptitude as husbands and fathers. None of this is true but they are the messages imprinted on us from birth. 

We’re not taught that we can be fully satisfied with the ordinary; that to have our daily bread is enough. We’re not taught to treasure the irreplaceable time with our wives and children. We quietly desire more and more, missing the truth that we have everything we need.

I have all that I need. I’ve always had all that I need. I have eyes to see that now. In this moment, I’ll enjoy this season God has given me and wait. I’ll leave you with these words of Jesus. May you find the same peace in them that I do.

Matthew 5:25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.