"The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;"
                                        Proverbs 21:25

By the sweat of one's brow a man shall eat always rings out in my mind. Those were the words I would hear when I was growing up in my parent's home. Without work, the bills cannot be paid and survival is in doubt. Throughout the bible we see where men and women laboured to feed themselves and their families. Communities worked together so that everyone could benefit from the harvest. It was a hard work, but great fun when the harvest arrived.

Nowadays the story is quite different. People's whole outlook has changed, making lots of money is the priority. Being able to buy a big house, a fancy car, and lots of 'toys' is the motivation to chase the dollar bill. Some still have the aim to provide for their families, but the interest of self is now the main focus. Community is not a concept that is regarded, your neighbour can be starving as long as you are okay is the order of the day.

In an effort to achieve mountains of dollars, people are now forced to overwork themselves, because without spending long hours these days, people will never achieve the money to meet those goals.

"What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?" Ecc 1:3

As the writer in Ecclesiastes points out, all of the things we chase, such as money is just vanity of vanities. In countries like Canada and the USA, people are constantly overworked in an effort to make more money. Christians are dragged and enticed into the lure of the 'greenback'. The time that we use to spend worshipping God is now dedicated to making money to meet our earthly goals. Whereas in Jamaica, you would have the time for bible study, retreats, camps and other spiritual gatherings that cemented your faith.

In the end, after all these labors another will enjoy the harvest. The lesson from being overworked is that there will never be enough time to enjoy it all, and at what cost. Would you rather lose your soul than have God? The chose is clear in my estimation, God must come first in everything. My whole outlook on life has changed, I am refocussing my thoughts, putting my faith first and everything else after. However, in all things we still must work to provide for ourselves, families and others who are less fortunate, that is what God requires of us.

When you overwork yourself though, you have moved away from the purpose of labor. Are you in this life to build treasures on earth? Or does God want you to build towards your glory above? The bible seems clear of this, that we labor for the gift to reach heaven, to live with God forever. This is my goal, to see God one day, but I can't do that if I am overworked. A sacrifice must be made, and its an easy one, a simple life is better than one without God.