Category Archives: Work-Life Balance

What is the Purpose of the Sabbath Day? Numbers 15.

“Hey, Jim! Where have you been?” I asked my neighbor. He was entering his apartment as I was leaving mine. “Oh, you know. Working.” “But I haven’t seen you in weeks!” “Well, I’ve been working a lot.” “Every day? I mean, you’re not even around on the weekends?” “Oh, yeah. I work every day.” “Seriously?Continue reading “What is the Purpose of the Sabbath Day? Numbers 15.”

The ‘Good Enough’ Work Ethic. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14.

Image: the cockpit of an airbus. The World War Two generation understood how to fight to the death. They knew what it was to live through a world at war, and to fear how things would end up, should the Allies lose. Life for the WWII generation (often called “The Greatest Generation”) must have beenContinue reading “The ‘Good Enough’ Work Ethic. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14.”

How Do I Get My Children to Follow the Lord? 2 Chronicles 24:24-25.

What do most immigrants to the United States want their children to do? Go to med school, of course! The idea has become such a stereotype, standup comics make millions telling jokes about it. But the stereotype is not untrue. Parents of every stripe, of every American ethnicity and culture have imagined their children asContinue reading “How Do I Get My Children to Follow the Lord? 2 Chronicles 24:24-25.”

WORK IS GOD’S PLAN, NOT GOD’S PUNISHMENT. Psalm 104:14,23.

I was obsessed. I woke up running and did not stop till dark. After school, I put on play clothes and was back outside. Life was adventures, tree climbing, pirates, hide & seek, baseball, bicycles, and more. I BELIEVED in play the way others believed in the Dallas Cowboys. PLAY was my team. I LOVEDContinue reading “WORK IS GOD’S PLAN, NOT GOD’S PUNISHMENT. Psalm 104:14,23.”

A Little Hard Work Never … 2 Corinthians 8:7-11.

When Billy Graham was a boy, the clock would chime at 2:30 a.m., waking the entire family for another day of hard work on the farm. Billy trotted off to the barn to milk twenty cows and shovel manure. After school he milked the cows a second time. The Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards spent 13Continue reading “A Little Hard Work Never … 2 Corinthians 8:7-11.”

HARD WORK IS THE RIGHT THING. 2 Thessalonians 3:7-8, 10; 1 Thessalonians 4:11.

There is a notion that spiritual people should not involve themselves in hard work, but stay inside, keep their hands clean, think deep thoughts, and somehow make themselves more spiritual by doing less. That is ridiculous! Jesus had dirt under his fingernails. And a farmer’s tan. And scars on his hands from years of hardContinue reading “HARD WORK IS THE RIGHT THING. 2 Thessalonians 3:7-8, 10; 1 Thessalonians 4:11.”

Are You a Slacker?

Once several of us in a singing group were loading speakers and other equipment into a trailer. I teased one of the guys for being a slacker. “Slacker? Don’t call me that—that’s my nickname at work!” He was serious.  I was embarrassed for him, to be honest. What an awful reputation to have on theContinue reading “Are You a Slacker?”

The Capable Wife.

Chapter 31 of Proverbs is so popular it has become an adjective: “She’s a Proverbs 31 woman.”  It is a great compliment—what woman would not want to be described this way? But we misread the passage when we take it literally. Consider: ‘She buys wool and flax to make things. She rises early to prepareContinue reading “The Capable Wife.”

Vocations and Avocations.

We are blessed. Capitalism, fossil fuels, electricity, and other factors have combined to make ours the richest society in history. We can survive working only eight hours a day, while some economies require much more. And that leaves room for hobbies, second jobs, and a variety of “diversions” to give your mind a restful breakContinue reading “Vocations and Avocations.”