You roll over and check your phone before your feet even hit the floor. Slack notifications. A few unread emails. A text from your boss—nothing urgent, but enough to make you feel like you’re already behind. You tell yourself you’ll read your Bible after work, but after work turns into dinner, then one more email, then a quick scroll through Instagram, and suddenly it’s midnight, and you’re too exhausted to do anything but set another alarm and start over.
You want to do meaningful work. You also want a life outside of it. But right now, it feels like those things are in competition. And while the Bible has a lot to say about work, it’s not exactly handing out hot takes on work/life balance. Still, if you look closely, there’s a pattern—a way of working that isn’t just about hustling harder but about living well.
Work Is Good—But It’s Not Everything
Let’s start with this: The Bible is pro-work. Before the fall, before sin, before burnout, God created, then gave Adam and Eve a job: take care of the world (Genesis 2:15). Work isn’t a consequence of sin—it’s part of our design. Proverbs is full of praise for diligence, and Paul reminds the early church to work “as for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). Ambition itself isn’t the problem.
But there’s a difference between working hard and making work the center of your identity.
Ecclesiastes is basically an entire book about a man who had everything—wealth, success, power—and still found it empty. Jesus asks, “What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul?” (Mark 8:36). If your work is consuming all your energy, crowding out your relationships, and leaving no space for rest, that’s not just a season—it’s a warning sign.
Rest Isn’t a Reward—It’s a Command
We treat rest like something we have to earn, but the Bible presents it as essential. God created for six days and rested on the seventh—not because He needed to, but to set a precedent (Genesis 2:2-3). Then He made it one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). That’s a pretty high ranking for something we so often ignore.
Jesus also made time to step away. He withdrew from crowds, left work unfinished, and literally napped in the middle of a storm (Luke 5:16, Mark 4:38). He could have kept pushing, but He didn’t. Because rest isn’t about laziness—it’s about trust.
Psalm 127:2 says, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for He grants sleep to those He loves.”
If you can’t stop working, even when you know you should, it might be worth asking why.
Boundaries Aren’t Selfish—They’re Wise
Jesus didn’t heal everyone. He didn’t meet every demand. He walked away from crowds, ignored expectations and made time for solitude. That wasn’t negligence—it was intentionality.
If the Son of God didn’t say yes to everything, why do you feel guilty for turning off notifications after 7 p.m.? Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
If your work leaves you too drained to invest in friendships, community or even your faith, that’s not balance—it’s a slow unraveling.
Your Job Is Not Your Calling
The Bible talks a lot about work, but it never defines people by their careers. Paul made tents. Peter fished. Jesus was a carpenter before He started His ministry. What you do for a living might be important, but it’s not your purpose. Your calling—to love God and love people (Matthew 22:37-39)—is bigger than your job title.
So, work hard. Be excellent. Show up. But don’t make work the thing your life revolves around. If God Himself rested, you don’t need to prove that you’re above it.
Now, log off.