Grasping for Wind

Dear Friends,

A few signs that you need a vacation:

You sleep more at work than at home.
You hand out productivity chore charts/graphs to your kids and spouse.
You daydream of how relaxing it would be if you were in jail right now.
You leave for a party and instinctively take your ID badge.
Your Blackberry/I-Phone is now officially your brain.
You read forwarded email as serious and urgent news.

King Solomon, later in his reign, gave a rather pessimistic look into the meaning of life recorded in Ecclesiastes. In many life issues he states, that certain pursuits are “all vanity” and like “grasping the wind”. Solomon states an observation question in Eccl. 2:22 “For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?” We understand the value and necessity of work for provision and care for our family and home, and yet there are seasons when we lose our balance and priorities. The warning sign is when work becomes all consuming of our time, thoughts, identity and purpose. If our lives, month after month, year after year, become consumed by work, earning more, working more, climbing the corporate ladder, etc. then in the end we will look back and see the terrible cost of consuming work.

With an unbalanced, unhealthy, all consuming work ethic and identity we sacrifice time and attention to our spouse, we miss valuable opportunities as a parent, we only have “work” friendships, church services and events become another “to do” item on the list, quiet time in prayer and devotion disappear, and our physical, mental and emotional health slowly slip into a dark pit. All for what? Generally not for need, but for more…more stuff, more accomplishment, more titles, more ego strokes…like grasping the wind.

The balance of time and attention to work is found in both Proverbs to work hard and not be lazy, slothful or a sluggard, as well as, in Ecclesiastes the vanity of all consuming work. Summer is an obvious time to carefully and prayerfully reflect on this balance between work (at home or marketplace) and relationships. Seek and listen to the Holy Spirit’s counsel and guidance for a healthy Biblical perspective. Maybe you might be in need of a vacation.

Blessings,
Pastor Tim