What Does the Bible Say About Working Too Much? A Call to Rest

Are you working too much and still feeling spiritually empty? Discover what the Bible says about working too much and why God calls us to rest. Pastor Scott LaPierre explores how overworking can lead to spiritual burnout, strained relationships, and a failure to honor God’s rhythms of grace and Sabbath. The Bible doesn’t just warn against laziness—it also warns against working too much. God designed a balance, and this message dives deep into how you can realign your life with His perfect plan for work and rest. https://youtu.be/IVGmu3TEt_M Table of contentsWhen We Turn Blessings Into IdolsDo You Work Too Much?The Twelve Apostles Knew the Solution Isn’t Always Working HarderThree Lessons to Learn from the ApostlesGod Modeled Rest for UsShould We Rest on Saturday or Sunday?Our Need to Rest Should Remind Us to Depend on the LordPhysically Resting Is Often a Spiritual MatterWe Are Often Kept Awake for Spiritual ReasonsRepent of Working Too Much By Finding BalanceRepenting of Working Too Much Is Repenting Of Idolatry Imagine a young father named Mike, whose parents made him work hard during his upbringing. Although he didn’t like it at the time, now that he has a family of his own, he appreciates the way his parents raised him. To provide for his family, he’s been putting in more hours than ever before. Over time, he begins to prioritize his job over his family. What his boss thinks is more important than what his wife, children, or God think. He regularly feels exhausted, and his health is suffering. But he doesn’t slow down. He pursues every work message, project, deal, sale, and offer so he can continue to advance in the company. Church attendance has become infrequent because he’s convinced his paycheck can care for him better than God can. He invests the same passion in his job that he once invested in his relationship with Christ. He turned a good thing into a god thing. Work is a blessing, but, like Mike, we have the potential to ruin even the blessings God gives us because of our flesh. When We Turn Blessings Into Idols Consider this account from Israel’s history to illustrate what can happen. When Israel was in the wilderness, they complained, and as a judgment, God sent poisonous serpents into the camp that started biting the people: Numbers 21:7 The people [said] to Moses, “We have sinned…Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. When people looked at this bronze serpent, they were spared from the snakebites. But, tragically, over time, people began to worship the bronze serpent. When Hezekiah reformed the nation and destroyed the idolatry, he had to include the bronze serpent, which by then had developed its own name: 2 Kings 18:4 [Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.” The object that brought miraculous healing became an idol. Nehushtan serves as a reminder that we must be vigilant against taking any of God’s blessings—whether it’s marriage, children, homes, relationships, money, or jobs—and allowing them to become idols. Mike’s work, and our work, is no more sinful than the bronze serpent, but work becomes Nehushtan if it’s ever more important than God. When I returned from Africa, I preached a sermon on laziness because I believe the culture there breeds it. But what do you think the culture in America breeds? I think our competitive American culture can breed working too much, as Africa can breed laziness. Because our motto is “bigger and better,” we feel the pressure to keep up and find ourselves busier than ever. Covetousness has never been a stronger temptation. The only solution appears to be working harder. We can end up overworked, under-rested, and spiritually undernourished. In the past, people couldn’t begin working until the sun rose, and they stopped working when the sun set. Now electricity allows us to have our lights, computers, and cell phones on all the time. Consider this verse: Isaiah 2:8 Their land is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. The people in Isaiah’s day worshiped their work, and we can worship our work too. When we work too much, work doesn’t suddenly become sinful or unrighteous. Instead, our relationship to work became sinful or unrighteous. Workaholics can have the same relationship to their work that addicts have to alcohol, drugs, or pornography. Everything else in their lives—family, friends, church, health, and rest—can take a backseat to their jobs. We should recognize that our relationship with work has become sinful when it overshadows the areas of our lives that the Lord wants us to prioritize, such as our relationship with Him and our family members. Do You Work Too Much? Answer these questions honestly to help determine whether you struggle with working too much: When you’re supposed to be resting, does your mind return to work? Do you obsess about your job when you’re not working, thereby removing the distinction between work and rest? If you’re home, can you focus on your loved ones, or are you still preoccupied with your job? Do you find ways to avoid other responsibilities in your life so that you can get more work done for your job? If you want honest answers to these questions, consider asking your spouse or children what they think you should answer! The Twelve Apostles Knew the Solution Isn’t Always Working Harder Let’s consider an example from Scripture of individuals who had too much to do to see how they handled it: Acts 6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. The Hellenist or Greek widows said they weren’t receiving a share of food, and this seemed to be a legitimate complaint. The early church was growing exponentially: In Acts 2:41, 3,000 joined the church In Acts 4:4, 5,000 when the church John MacArthur said there could’ve been over 20,000 men and women.1 This was just too many people for the 12 apostles to shepherd effectively. Throughout the Old Testament, God commanded care for orphans and widows. This continues into the New Testament: James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Paul instructed Timothy, “Honor widows” (1 Timothy 5:3) and “care for widows” (1 Timothy 5:16). The apostles recognized caring for widows as a significant matter. So, what would we expect them to say? “We’ll work harder! We need to make sure no widows fall through the cracks. If we all put in a few more hours, we can get this under control.” Instead: Acts 6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. This has nothing to do with serving food or cleaning up after a meal. Instead, the word “tables” refers to tables for financial transactions. Think of Jesus turning over the moneychangers’ tables. In Luke 19:23, the same word is translated as “bank.” This doesn’t mean the Twelve didn’t want to handle the administrative duties, such as distributing funds, or that they were lazy or thought it was beneath them. Instead, they wisely recognized that they couldn’t “serve tables” and fulfill the other responsibilities that God had given them. Instead, what they decided: Acts 6:3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” This is when the office of deacon was established. Three Lessons to Learn from the Apostles First, it’s not wise, kind, humble, or impressive when we take on more than we can handle. It demonstrates a lack of wisdom due to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual problems it causes. Second, sharing responsibilities with others is not a sign of laziness or thinking something is beneath us. Instead, we have limited amounts of time and energy, and we recognize the load is too much for us. Third, we sometimes recognize that our time and energy are better spent elsewhere. The apostles understood that taking care of widows was important, but they recognized that it wasn’t more important than preaching the Word and prayer. God Modeled Rest for Us God was the first worker. We see Him work from the very first verse of the Bible, when He creates the heavens and the earth. Then, at the beginning of Genesis 2: Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. Three times in two verses, we are told about His work. But God is also the first rest-er. Two times in these verses, we are told that God rested. God introduced the concept of work and rest at creation. God didn’t need to work for six days. He could have created everything in a single day or moment. He worked for six days because He was establishing a pattern for us. Similarly, God didn’t need to rest on the seventh day. He wasn’t tired. Instead, He was establishing a pattern for us to follow.