So many people today, Christians included, work too much. Some even work three jobs a day, with probably a lot less time for good, healthy meals and not enough time to get rest. Working hard might be good, but working too hard won't be.
The Bible warns us against the dangers of working too hard. While the Word of God clearly tells us that we should all avoid laziness and work excellently to the glory of God, abusing our bodies and our health in working too much is something that He doesn't want at all.
Working excellently at the things that pleases God puts a smile on His face, but working too hard doesn't make Him happy. After all, we are the temples of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 6:19), and we should take care of ourselves.
This article is written for all who work hard in order to attain various things. While it is easy to understand that more jobs or work means more income, we have to keep in mind that we can only serve one master, and it's always either God or money (see Matthew 6:24).
The Word and too much work
Some of us work for two things: more income, or more favors or acceptance from people. While both might be good, at some point working for both of them becomes bad. It's the motive and the correlating action that counts.
Working for money
Working for money becomes wrong when it's too much. Proverbs 13:11 tells of those who do wrong things to get rich,
"Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase."
Those who labor too much for money are warned by Proverbs 23:4-5 as well:
"Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven."
Working hard to get rich might bring benefits in the long run, but working too hard to the point of risking our own health just to get rich will be detrimental in the long run. Why should we work so hard to earn much, only to pay for medication later on when our health is weakened from too much work?
We should check our motives. We are warned against having greed in our hearts. 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us,
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
Working to please man
Some of us, on the other hand, work so hard to please men. While serving men and giving them the best care they can ever have is the job of those working in the care and service fields (such as nursing, therapy, waiting on tables and housekeeping), pleasing men is not the ultimate goal of the Christian life. Pleasing God is.
Some of us give our all to please people. We give more than what is asked by our bosses, give a lot of favors to colleagues, and even walk the extra mile in helping others. While the Lord Jesus does tell us to serve, He also tells us that we should love God above all, and love others only as ourselves (see Matthew 22:37-40).
So what do we do? Some of us only work hard to please people in order to gain favors from them. While work excellence gives us access to much favor before men (see Proverbs 22:29), working hard to please others makes us their slaves.
Christ freed us from slavery to man. If we are in Him, our goal would be to please Him, not man. We should live according to Galatians 1:10, which says,
"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."
In closing
Friends, we must work hard and do our best to the glory of God. He is our Master, and He is the only one who deserves our utmost. We must seek Him above all, higher than riches or the favor and applause of man. Let's heed the Lord Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33, saying,
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
