"Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep."
-Psalm 127:1-2 ESV
Is your hard work driven by anxiety? For myself, I have found that this question is not always easy to answer.
I tend to be a driven person. I believe, at times, I have persuaded myself that being driven is a good thing. But I’m not convinced that being driven is always good. Undoubtedly, work itself is a good thing that God designed. It can be seen before the Fall--that is, before the entrance of sin into the world (Gen. 1-2).
Moreover, there is clearly a spectrum regarding work. On one side there is overwork, and on the other side there is underwork. Nevertheless, the general American tendency is typically overwork. In fact, we often praise and promote people who overwork in America.
Sadly, this is often true in the church as well. Yes, we can overwork doing good things. Scripture doesn't merely treat us as workers. Work is one aspect of our lives. We also have a spiritual life, church community, relationships, rest, finances, and so on. God has revealed his will, or his desires, for these categories in Scripture.
Notice how we are prone in America to elevate overwork as a good thing, but we don't do the same with other categories. Do we elevate spending an excessive amount of time on marriage relationships, family relationships, friend relationships, prayer, and rest?
Thus, while working to faithfully accomplish what the Lord has for us is godly, overworking and neglecting other aspects of life is not. Furthermore, we are complex creatures; sometimes we overwork due to insecurities, fear, anxiety, anger, approval, selfish ambition, and the list goes on and on. In Ecclesiastes 4:4, we can see another reason: envy. "Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind" (Ecc. 4:4).
Perhaps, one way we can discover our motives is through the lens of Psalm 127:1-2.
1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2)This is a confrontational verse in our culture. Why? Because waking up early and staying up late is the recipe for success. Creating anxiety in workers seems to be a leadership strategy for more work!
Perhaps, like me, you may want to reflect on a few application questions from this verse:
Am I overworking?
Am I neglecting other aspects of life?
Do I constantly feel like I'm rushing from one thing to the next?
Why am I overworking?
Am I anxious in my work?
Anxious about finances?
Anxious about hitting a goal?
Anxious about about pleasing a person?
Anxious about maintaining an image?
Anxious about not being needed at work (or perhaps replaced)?
Anxious about something in my personal life that I'm avoiding?
Anxious about an outcome of a situation?
Anxious about God being in control of the situation?
Anxious about something else?