I am taking a few days off this week to let my mind rest. I have a lot going on and I need to take time out and let it go for a few days. We all need these mini-mental breaks from our labor.
22 For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
I try to keep Solomon’s words in mind regarding my work. I have spent many a year focused so fully upon work to the detriment of my family and health. Don’t get me wrong, there is can be and should be joy in work. But driven people rarely draw a healthy line between joyful work and being workaholics.
I believe, all too often, we work with no end in mind. We labor and go about our work thinking of only putting bread on the table. Work needs to have an end goal, and I am not talking about retirement. While retirement should be a goal to be sure, there must be more to work than just striving for position or making more money. When we work for only these ends we end up with Solomon’s vanity of work, it is all for nothing.
No, we must have an end goal. Striving, profiteering, a secure and comfortable life do not fulfill us. They may all fill a need, but in and of themselves they are not fulfilling. You must have a desire for work to fulfill you or it is just a job to make ends meet.
Reflect on: What you are truly striving to fulfill in your work life.