I Am A Workaholic

I like to work. Not that I often enjoy doing the labor itself, but I enjoy working. Sure, there are other things I'd rather do, but even in my moments of relaxation, I think of something else I could be doing. I feel guilty when I'm not productive enough. Telling me to "relax" is like telling someone to go from 150 mph to 0 in .5 seconds. Possible? Probably, but it's not going to be pretty.

Until recently, I haven't realized how much of a workaholic I've become. I realized quite a while back that I'd become a caffeine addict, but I never thought that it was a symptom of a larger problem. I have some OCD tendencies, and I like to be a perfectionist whenever I can, and then in high school I was introduced to the concept of IB (International Baccalaureate program). Basically, a very valuable opportunity to earn college credit and develop learning skills....while completely overloading yourself with work. I learned how to live my life packed full with responsibilities and developed a high tolerance for stress. By the end of high school, stress was my life, so I barely took notice of it anymore.

Then I went to college as a Music Ed major. You have to be insane to major in that area, but I decided to be even more insane by taking a 12 credit honors course on TOP of my required music major courses. I threw myself into everything that I was doing, and when that didn't work, I attempted to cut corners and keep everything balanced. Academic courses, music courses, extra curricular activities, friends, family, spiritual life, etc. I drove myself into the ground trying to keep everything together. By the end of second semester I was barely hanging on. But I decided to ignore all of it in focus of my travel plans.

During my time over in Europe, God decided that it was time that I learn to stop. In a series of events, God showed me the fact that I haven't slowed down for 3 years now. For three years I've been pushing myself beyond the limits, never slowing down unless it was completely necessary. And then I wondered why I didn't feel passion at school anymore. I wondered why it took all of me just to give to someone else. I wondered why I felt dead by the end of the year, like I had killed not myself, but my life. It took making me sleep deprived and upset to get my attention, but one wise friend warned me "If you don't take time to listen for His voice, you're forcing Him to just speak louder". He crushed me to the point where I finally had to acknowledge that I did indeed need rest and renewal.

He carried this theme over when I returned home to find that Pastor Gary had decided to make his summer series "God's Stressbusters". Each week He's taking a look at part of Psalm 23 to show how God wants us to treat the stress in our lives. I wish our church's website was working properly so I could post a link to the sermons! Trust me, as soon as I can, I will! This week's sermon hit me especially quite hard. It was entitled "God's Antidote to Busyness". Even more than being a workaholic (since I am also a procrastinator and quite lazy at points), I'm learning that I love to be busy, doing something, anything. And I think that is something with which many of us struggle, and a symptom of the deeper problem of sin. Since I can't post the sermon itself, I'll at least post these notes, and if you want a further discussion from what I can remember, I'd be happy to discuss it.

God's Antidote to Busyness
Psalm 23:2 - "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters"

[A number of opening remarks dealing with the fact that we need to learn to relax]
Psalm 127:2 (NLT) "It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones."

We need to RELAX:

1. Realize my worth

James 1:18 (NLT) "He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."

In our society today we place too great a value upon our work. As soon as we find out a person's name, the next thing we ask is "so what do you do?". We measure our own worth from what job we have, how high up in the company we are, how much money we make, etc. Instead, we need to realize the worth that God places upon us.

-You will never understand how much God loves you here on earth.
-There is nothing you can ever do in life that will make God love you more than He already does.
-There is nothing you can ever do that will make God love you any less

2. Enjoy what I already have

Eccl 3:13 (NIV) "That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God."

We live in a rat race. Too often we're spending money we don't have, to get things we don't need, in order to keep up with people we don't even like. And we can't even take it with us after wards! "I've had a conversation about this subject with Jon Carpenter (a member of our congregation who owns a funeral home) He agrees with me - he's never seen a U Haul attached to hearse". At the end of our lives, we won't regret not having a big enough house or a nice enough car - we'll regret not doing the things we loved, with people that we loved, or spending enough time with God.

3. Limit my labor

Mark 2:27 (NIV) "Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Those of us who are true workaholics know what it's like. You keep going, and going, and going, and going, until finally your body says "ENOUGH!" and forces you to rest...usually by making you so sick that you can't do anything else. We weren't made to be pushing ourselves as much as we do. That's why God made resting one of the 10 Commandments, and every time we don't take that time, we're breaking that commandment. It doesn't need to be on Sunday, but we just have to do it.

-REST my body
-RECHARGE your emotions
-You need to REFOCUS your spirit

4. Adjust my values (priorities)

Eccl 4:4 (NIV) "And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

Mark 8:36 (NIV) "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

The verse from Ecclesiastes is pretty hard hitting. All this work is springing from envy. Hmm...we need to really take a hard look at our priorities and figure out if our schedule truly reflects what we value.

5. Xchange my pressure for God's peace

Matt 11:28-29 (NIV) ""Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

-PHYSICAL fatigue - tired muscles
-EMOTIONAL fatigue - tired emotions, feelings
-SPIRITUAL fatigue - dry spirit


God's antidote to busyness is an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, your Shepherd!

7 Tips
-Spend time alone with God everyday, probably BEFORE the craziness of the day starts
-Be sure to take your Sabbath rest every week. Do it religiously.
-Find some activity you enjoy and do it
-Drop things from your schedule
-Add things to your schedule that are God-led
-Say "NO" to everything else
-Pursue God and bask in His presence