Editor’s Note: Read the previous articles in this series below!
“Workism” and God’s Design for Work
The Impact of the Fall on Work
The Motivation for Work
As we’ve explored the topic of balancing work and family in a God-honoring way, we’ve looked at several key biblical principles to ground us. First, we looked at the importance of balancing work and family to protect our family and God’s design for work to be a blessing for us (Gen 1:26-31). Secondly, we examined the ways that sin has corrupted our work and has led to the trials and temptations we experience in our jobs (Gen 3:17-19). In our last article, we discussed that the motivation for Christians to work should be honoring Christ as our ultimate boss (Col 3:22-24). To summarize, the Bible teaches that work is a God-given blessing, but due to the corruption of sin, it must be approached with diligence, intentionality, and wisdom to protect your family.
Now that we’ve tackled some of the Biblical principles behind work, let’s get practical. What are tangible things that we should be doing to balance work and family?
Protecting Yourself and Your Family at Work: “Guard Your Heart”
First and foremost, to balance work and family, you need to intentionally guard your heart at work. Protecting yourself and your family begins with protecting your heart with intentionality.
In the Bible, the heart is used to refer to the inner person. This is who you really are on the inside. This includes your thoughts, desires, and emotions.
As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.
Proverbs 27:19
God commands us in Proverbs to guard our hearts diligently.
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
The first step to balancing work and family in a biblical way is to diligently keep watch over your own heart. Any imbalance or sinful behaviors impacting your family will arise from sin in the heart. Jesus said this:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Matthew 15:19
As we’ve discussed earlier, the natural pull of work in this fallen world will be away from God and away from family. Like an ocean tide, you can be subtly swept downstream if you’re not paying attention. Like a soldier, you must be aware that you’re in a battle and you need to stay alert for the enemy. Through prayer and self-examination, you should root out signs of the following heart issues and repent as they crop out.
Idolatry
John Calvin said, “The human heart is an idol factory.” In our fallen state, we often put things other than God on the throne of our hearts in the pursuit of joy or satisfaction. If your job or position is the primary source of your joy and pain, rising or falling with every victory or failure, that could be a sign your work has become your identity. For a lot of my time in tech, this was a constant struggle for me. My identity had become so intertwined with my work that it was often an idol. Be on guard for traces of idolatry in your work.
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
Matthew 6:24
Pride
Our society values great achievement. We love praising the most talented athletes: Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, and Steph Curry. We have great respect for business visionaries like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. If we’re honest with ourselves, we want to be recognized as great. We often love the praise of men.
We should obviously pursue excellence in our work and that can often lead to getting positive feedback from others. Additionally, Christians can and should find a God-honoring satisfaction in doing their work in a way that glorifies God and blesses others. Excellent work done in a way that pleases God and serves others (who benefit from the goods or services we produce) should be a source of encouragement to us. However, constantly striving for recognition or elevation among other people can be a sign of pride welling up in our hearts. We must be on guard to ensure that we don’t turn satisfaction in a job well done into a prideful exaltation of ourselves and our abilities.
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5
Greed
It’s been estimated that John Rockefeller was the richest American in history. He founded the Standard Oil company in the late 1800s and it became a behemoth of a business. Adjusted for inflation, he was personally worth $410B. (Elon Musk is currently the wealthiest man alive and his net worth is ~$251B.) When Rockefeller was once asked, “How much money is enough?” His reply was, “Just a little bit more.”
God can bless us with good jobs that pay well and raises and bonuses. However, if you become obsessed with getting rich or if money becomes your primary source of security and status, that means that greed is taking root in your heart.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
Anxiety
Our jobs can be incredibly stressful and can lead to great anxiety if we let them. I struggled with anxiety a lot during my time working in the tech industry. Trying to navigate the chaotic environment and internal politics as a first time manager was rough for me. I thought I was going to get fired during my first year as a manager. By the grace of God, he delivered me from that and I finally found my bearings working as a leader in tech. However, stress is endemic to many of our jobs. In light of that, we need to rest in God’s sovereignty and turn our anxieties over to Him.
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
Prov 12:25
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:28
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.
Ps 127:1-2
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matt 6:25; 33-34
There are many other temptations that we need to guard our hearts against in the workplace to protect our families. Rather than piling everything into one long missive, we’ll explore further ways to guard our hearts in our next article.
