Work/Life Balance for Christians

Work/Life Balance for Christians

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Faith & Work
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How often have you made plans with a friend, only to realize you’ve double booked with a work meeting?

Or when was the last time you tried to engage in your favorite hobby, only to find yourself constantly checking your work email? I’m willing to admit I’m guilty of this—and I’m sure you are too.

Our fast-paced, hustle-and-bustle culture puts us in an endless state of busyness. Our jobs and career goals bump against our personal time, family obligations, and ability to sleep, making it hard to find a rhythm in life. Which, even in the best case, only leads us to anxiety, imbalance, and burnout.

Our desire to work hard and make progress in our professional lives isn’t a bad thing. In fact, God expects us to have a strong work ethic to care for ourselves and our families. Diligence and excellence are two of the major ways we steward the talents, abilities, and resources he’s given us. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.” But many Christians live with a tension of wanting to excel at work while prioritizing their health, family, friends, and ministry.

Finding balance can feel impossible.

A healthy work-life balance is simply the ability to maintain a sustainable rhythm of work and rest. Achieving a perfectly curated work-life balance is improbable because life is full of sudden and unforeseeable changes. Instead, think about a rhythm that best suits your current season of life. It’s more achievable than you may think.

Let’s look at 3 practical ways we can bring our professional and personal lives into a harmonious rhythm:

1. Determine Your Priorities

If our main priority is to serve and glorify God in all that we do, then we must take inventory of all he’s given us—our relationships, jobs, our bodies, resources, and our time. We should be faithful with all that God has given us but know that we can’t do everything. Some people and tasks are more important than others. Ask yourself: what are the responsibilities, hobbies, and relationships I refuse to put to the side? Is it serving in the local church? Having dedicated quality time with family and friends? Or maybe climbing a corporate ladder? Verbalizing your priorities will help you determine what you do and don’t have time for. It may even reveal some disordered priorities that need to be rearranged.

For advice on how to balance work with family, check out Expert Ownership: Mastering Small Business with David and Jason Benham.

2. Set Personal Boundaries

It is easy to overlap our work and home lives. To ensure that we are at our best, whether at work or home, we need to establish boundaries. Everyone’s boundaries are going to look different because none of us has the same family dynamics or work schedules. But, to get your mind started, here are some examples of helpful boundaries:

  • Silence your work phone after 7:30 p.m. or refuse to look at work email until the next day.
  • Prioritize being present at your kids’ extracurricular events (games, recitals, etc.).
  • Use all of your PTO during the year. Or take a long weekend each quarter away from work simply to rest.
  • Prioritize your doctor’s appointments, even though they take you from work.
  • Determine which phone calls or texts you will and won’t answer at work.
  • Lock your social media during work hours.

For more practical ways to set personal boundaries, watch Jordan Raynor’s series Redeeming Your Time on RightNow Media @ Work.

3. Practice the Sabbath

Taking a sabbath is not an optional time for rest—it’s a command and a gift from God (Exodus 20:8–11; Mark 2:27–28). Having a whole day set aside for rest allows us to reset within a divinely orchestrated rhythm established at the creation of the world (Genesis 2:2–3). The difficulty for busy Christians is that we don’t think we have time to rest. We can’t afford to stop everything for a whole day! But God says it’s for our own good to slow down once a week.

Resting is a faith exercise—reminding us that God is in control, not our calendars. Sabbath teaches us to let God be God while we enjoy the blessings he has given us. For busy Christians, practicing a weekly day of rest can be one of the most helpful ways to maintain work-life balance.

For more ideas on sabbath, check out The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry with John Mark Comer.

Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 says, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” (NIV) Working hard is a necessary part of life—it’s the way we provide for ourselves. But our work should never come between our health, family, children, or ability to simply enjoy the little things in life.

Try one of the practical suggestions above and allow God to guide you to a healthy rhythm of life.
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Alyssa Gossom

Writer, RightNow Media

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