Moderate Work 

We have discussed honest work, smart work and fulfilling work.  The last component of effective work is moderation. Work is a necessary part of life.  It helps to give us direction and purpose.  Just think back to a day when you had a good day at work.  It’s satisfying.  Work is good!  It’s even better when you are doing the things suggested here.  So let’s be clear about work.  It’s overworking that is the problem.  Even God rested after doing the work of creating the world and we are given instructions to not overwork.cxiv 

We all know someone who spends too much time working.  In fact, I know people who work three jobs and they are still broke.  The sad thing is that in their quest for “more,” they are destroying everything else in their life.  These people have lost sight of why they are working in the first place.  We all work for money, that is clear, but when you begin to spend too much time working, your relationships suffer, your personal life suffers, your health suffers and your finances suffer. 

If you have fallen into the trap of overworking, I urge you to become free today.  Take some time off to spend with family or friends.  Do some exercise or start to spend some time enjoying a hobby that you have become too busy to participate in.  If you like, just take some time to rest.cxv  If you have been overworking for a long time, you may have forgotten the delight found in simple pleasures.  “Over work makes for restless sleep.”cxvi  

You need to enjoy the fruit of your labor.  In fact, “you will eat the fruit of your labor; blessing and prosperity will be yours.”cxvii  After learning to work in moderation, you will begin to feel rejuvenated and more relaxed.  Who knows, you might even begin to enjoy some quiet time.  So, “have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well.  Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets and life will become a beautiful success.”cxviii  

There will be times when there may be a lot to do and you find yourself overworking.  There are times, when there might be a lot asked of you.  These situations are okay if they are the exceptions to the rule and not the normal course of your life.  Accept moderation in your work and start living the good life today.  You should “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”cxix  

Michael at R2W