Work Less. God Will Help You Do More.
Stop. We Can’t Keep Working Like This…
Business strategists like Cal Newport and Greg Mckeown have long described the challenge and opportunity of doing deep work in a distracted world.
Let me explain.
Since the second half of the 20th century, an agrarian economy has given rise to a knowledge economy (at least in the western world).
And in a society where goods & services are produced behind a desk (rather than in a field or along an assembly line), workers in the modern age have undergone a series of tradeoffs: tools for tablets, shovels for social media, and wheelbarrows for websites.
By moving our jobs indoors, aided as we are by contemporary conveniences like electricity, air conditioning, and WIFI, we can now work 24/7 (theoretically, that is).
Untethered from the natural rhythms of sun and season, we are free to work for as long or as hard as we like. Rather than working “sunup to sundown,” modern workers can quite literally “burn the midnight oil” well past midnight.
While this change in environment offers clear advantages over our ancestors in regards to productivity, the drift toward a digitally mediated work world comes with its own downsides, too. And not just for individuals; even for whole companies.
In a recent article for Harvard Business Review, Greg Mckeown notes, “When managers are ambiguous about the length of workdays, they risk introducing decision fatigue, diminishing returns, or even getting negative results from their employees.”
And such trade-offs cause modern employees (and employers) to wonder if the perceived value of this economic exchange matches its actual worth.
In our copernican revolution of labor, we are left asking the question:
Has the “Icarus” of innovation flown too close to the sun?
What’s Worship Got to Do with It?
For Christian leaders wanting to integrate their faith and work, this dynamic of a “work day that never stops” presents even more insidious (and spiritual) challenges.
In the ethical lineage of Protestant Christianity, we are frequently encouraged by pastors and spiritual leaders to “work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Colossians 3:23, NIV).
This admonition (a good, godly, and clearly biblical one) calls all able-bodied believers to treat work as spiritual service to God. This is summed up well by the age-old adage:
Work is worship.
Afterall, God (the original worker) created the world in six days (Genesis 1:31). And commands humans to do work as well (Genesis 2:15).
Yet the same word to describe the worshipful “work” of Eden in Genesis 2 (avad) is also used in Exodus 1 to detail the forced bondage of Egypt.
“So the Egyptians [avad] the people of Israel without mercy.” – Exodus 1:13 (NLT)
A broad-ranging term, avad can characterize all sorts of labor – whether those tasks intended by God or the ones demanded by Pharoah.
In fact, avad can be used to command worship of the one, true living God:
“[Avad] the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” – Psalm 100:2 (NKJV)
Or, it can be used to forbid the false worship of idols:
“They [avad] idols, concerning which the Lord had said to them, ‘You shall not do this thing.’” – 2 Kings 17:12 (NASB)
A resounding theme in both the Torah and the prophets, one truth is clear:
Work, like worship, can become idolatrous.
Which Avad are you doing?
If we want to avad well and see our work as worship to God and not the idols of our age, then Christian leaders should consider working less and resting more.
Here me out.
Rather than “burning the candle at both ends for Jesus” (and inevitably burning out), Christian business leaders should be the very first to discipline their digital devices, practice Sabbath, and embrace the God-given gift of limits.
Afterall, even God – the only One without limits – practiced rest.
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” – Genesis 2:2 (ESV)
Without incorporating a regular rhythm of rest into our work days, work weeks, and work lives, not only do we stand at risk of burning out ourselves and others, we also risk undermining the very good and necessary work God has called us to do.
Thomas Merton, a Catholic monk and scholar, once wrote:
“There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence … activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence … It kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
Merton wrote that in 1966, by the way… What might he say in the digital age today?
What’s A Christian Leader to Do?
If we want to do work that lasts, if we want to see our work as worship, then we would be wise to heed the instruction of monks, knowledge economists, and Scripture alike:
Work less. Rest more…
Practically, this means taking breaks from projects, following the “Sabbath” principle of resting every seven days, providing opportunities for your employees to relax and recharge, and maybe even making space for them to “unplug” from their digital devices.
More generally, Cal Newport advocates for simple yet transformational shifts like:
Doing fewer things
Working at a natural pace
Obsessing over quality
Or, more concretely, you might consider outsourcing your writing services to a qualified Christian content provider like Milk & Honey. A move like this would free your team up to do what only they can do without ignoring the very important task of making your work known.
Whatever you do, remember that in our 24/7, hyper-connected world, your “doing” is directly connected to your “being.” In the immortal words of Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft:
“If you can’t take time to do nothing, you’re a slave to doing. Doing nothing is a radical, revolutionary act. It frees you from the universal slavery of our age: slavery to the clock. The clock measures doing but not being.”
Do less, my friends.
Rest more.
God did it.
Why can’t you?