I believe in the significance and value associated with hard work. The Bible itself points to the fact the one should not be lazy. Words of warning concerning laziness are found in such passages as Proverbs (21:25) and II Thessalonians (3:10). Proverbs (21:25) says, “The desire of a lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.” And II Thessalonians (3:10) reads, “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
With this said, sometimes the performance of virtuous activities in excess can bring about an unhealthy imbalance in life. In other words, too much of a good thing can kill you, literally kill you. In Japan, workers are currently working so much overtime that people are dying from heart attacks, strokes, and suicide while at work. The Japanese have even created a word for deaths due to excessive work. The word is karoshi. In the past two years alone, more than 2,000 people in Japan have died such a death. The government has finally stepped in and has imposed a limit of 100 hours of overtime per worker per month in order to prevent additional deaths. This limit, although well-intentioned, is feared by many experts as not going far enough to protect their workers.
Like Japanese workers, we in America are also not afraid of hard work. Most of us are more than willing to work overtime in order to get the job done. As a matter of fact, many individuals go the extreme of bragging about how much overtime they work each week. They treat their overtime as a badge of honor to wear.
We need to learn a lesson from the Japanese worker and their culture. While hard work is indeed a virtue, it can be abused to the point that we create for ourselves a work/life imbalance. Such an imbalance can lead to such things as poor physical, mental, and emotional health, a decline in personal relationships, and neglecting our relationship with the Lord. When this occurs, our world can collapse around us before we even realize it is happening.
Because these serious consequences can occur because of a work/life imbalance, let us be sure to examine and evaluate our lives closely. Hard work is great; too much work, however, can bring ruin to our lives. Let us remember there is nothing virtuous about working ourselves to the point of neglecting our health, our personal relationships, and our Lord.
