MONDAY 21 NOVEMBER - FIND GOD'S WORK-LIFE BALANCE

2 Thessalonians 3:6 NLT

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us.

Work is a fundamental foundation of human life. But often we separate God from our work and our work becomes disordered. This week in our Battle Drill devotionals, we explore ways to find God’s intended rhythm in our work and rest.

Read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. Are you a “doer”? Do you set out every day to achieve, to accomplish, to work hard, to push forward, to make things happen?

If so, then I would imagine that at first glance, this passage must feel as if it’s right up your street. If there’s one thing that really annoys “doers” (and I speak with some experience!) it’s people who prefer not to do! So, Paul – who appears to be to be a gold-plated “doer” – coming along and telling the idle to get on with it deserves a round of applause!

Except, when you look at the word that is translated as “idle” it has an odd history. It wasn’t translated as “idle” until 1948, and many scholars wonder why it’s still translated that way today. It would be better translated (as the King James Version did) as “unruly” or disordered, out of line.

What Paul is saying here is applicable to anyone whose work-life balance is out of kilter. Human beings are called by God to work (see Genesis 1:27-31). But out of that same creation story comes the command to rest (Exodus 20:8-11).

Some of us might need to work more. But many of us need to work less. Our work-life balance is unruly, disordered and out of line. Let’s work when God wants us working and rest when he wants us resting. It’s the only way to get back in line.

THINK IT OVER

Think about the following:

What does you work, rest and worship rhythm look like? Does it need rebalancing? What can you do to bring it back in line?