Day 27 – 90 Days in Proverbs - Work/Life Balance

Proverbs 6:9-11 [ESV] 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

We are seeing a couple of key themes coming from Solomon in his writing of Proverbs. One is wisdom, another is avoiding sexual sin and another is laziness. Proverbs 6:9-11 is about laziness – or, more precisely, love of sleep.

But we know that sleep isn’t all bad. In fact, the right amount of sleep is important. Psalms 127:2 tells us that God “gives to His beloved sleep.” I’ve called out to God for the blessing of sleep during many a wakeful night – whether that wakefulness was caused by worry or pain or just the treachery of the female hormones. If you’ve ever had a restless night, especially if you’ve suffered from bouts of insomnia that last several nights, you understand what a blessing sleep is and how lack of it affects you.

Rest and sleep are important to our overall health. Exodus 20:8-11 outlines the commanded day of rest. However, it is clear from today’s verses that we can have too much of a good thing when it comes to rest.

But work is important too. God calls us to be laborers in His harvest. And He tells us to pray for more laborers to share the load so we can do more without getting overwhelmed. [Matthew 9:37]

Even the command in Exodus 20 talks both of resting and of working. Exodus 20:9-10 [NKJV] 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the LORD your God. [In it] you shall do no work.... Our loving Father was the first advocate of the right work/life balance.

Jesus’ own example is one of working the works of God – preaching, healing, casting out demons – and of getting away to quiet places to rest. He even set an example of sharing responsibilities as a way to train His followers and exponentially increase results. [See Luke 10:1-12]

Just as sure as being lazy will have poverty “pounce on you like a bandit” as the New Living Translation puts it, doing the work God gave you will bring great rewards. [See Matthew 25 and Luke 19]

Get plenty of rest. Then rise up, refreshed, and work hard. Train others and share the load. Pray for more laborers so that we can reach more people through their efforts. Rest again. Just don’t get too comfortable in that bed, as you’ll need to rise up and work again.

Work/life balance is nothing new. God prescribed it from the very beginning and He modeled Himself by resting for a day after six days of creation.

God won’t wear out His laborers. He knows our limits. He prescribes both hard work and dedicated time of rest.

Prayer — Father God, thank You for work to do in this life and for the opportunity to be a fellow laborer in Your harvest. Thank You also for rest and sleep. You know my limits. You understand this fragile human form which we live in now. Guide me to the right balance always so that I may serve You throughout my life. In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen

Your thoughts —  

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