Work, Work, Work

Have you ever really studied the book of Ecclesiastes? Solomon reveals a side of himself that you might not expect from the man who was given so much wisdom from God.

 Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 “There is something terribly unfair and it troubles everyone on earth.  God may give you everything you want – money, property, and wealth. Then God doesn’t let you enjoy it, and someone you don’t even know gets it all. That’s senseless and terribly unfair.”

This verse reverberates in my thoughts many times as I try to understand why we work so hard to get ahead. A man who worked for our company for 35 years was thrilled to retire at age 72. Joe could have retired years earlier (at 65) and had enough money to live comfortable, but he felt that he needed to increase his asset level so he could travel more. We had a big retirement party for him giving him fishing gear and travel maps from all over the world and sent him on his way to a wonderful retirement.

Two weeks after he had cleaned out his desk, we got a call from his wife. Joe had an aneurysm and was gone. I thought how unjust that was. He was a good man who was looking to enjoy the fruits of his labors. It was cut off entirely. How unfair! 

While mentoring a friend who was working long hours, I asked him that if he was on his deathbed would he say that his only regret is that he could have worked a few more hours at his job?  Is that how he wanted to be remembered by his family and friends?  He told me that was not fair. My response was “Neither is life”.

We should work to live and not live to work. When we take a look at our calendars, what fills our day? Many of us work long hours in our vocation or at home and sometimes rob God of His time. With an average of 38 million minutes in a lifetime, we often do not take 60 minutes a week (weekly church attendance) to learn from the Lord. That means we have trouble giving the Lord about 225,000 minutes in our lifetime because we are just too busy. (Less and ½ of 1 percent) If we add fifteen minutes a day in personal time, we are up a whopping 618,000 minutes or 1.6% of our life.

Not much when the Lord gives us up to 38 million minutes. I had someone years ago say that they do not need to give the Lord much time, money, or help with the work of the Church because they will have an eternity to spend with the Lord. Contrary to today’s popular beliefs we are not called to be just a sponge on earth that gets everything the world has to offer, but rather a pitcher of water being poured out on the earth to replenish those people we come in contact with daily. 

Now don't just say, "Then I'll quit working and have all this time with God".   That won't work because you have not had the close relationship each day with God, so the day will fill with everything else but the Lord.

Building a daily relationship with the Lord helps us understand what he wants us to do with our lives. If the order of your life is work, work, work, then family, and finally God, are you finding significance and meaning in life? Maybe it’s time you take a look at your priorities. Jesus said it best, “I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Are you finding abundance in your life?