Your work doesn’t define who you are
Human beings have been working for a long time. Like, a really long time. Ancient structures didn’t just grow out of the ground. Ancient texts didn’t write themselves. Ancient work had to be done.
It’s curious, then, how people who worked for a living thousands of years ago had the same identity crises that many of us have today.
Do you know what we mean? We’re talking about how we use our work to define ourselves. “What do you do for a living?” is one of the first questions people ask when they meet new people. How successful we feel is validated by how well we’re doing at work. We push ourselves beyond our limits … and we’re often unhappy because of it.
If only we had ancient texts warning us about why we need to stop identifying ourselves by our work…
An ancient text warning us to stop identifying ourselves by our work
“I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone — no children, no family, no friends — yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, ‘Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?’ More smoke. A bad business.
It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!
Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.
By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.”
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 (MSG)
Do you ever stop to ask yourself what drives you? Why do you chase this or that? We all need to be self-aware about what drives us and dictates our pace of life.
Do you measure your value and worth by your work? Stop. God has told us we are worthy. Jesus counts us as one of His, and we are valuable because of His declaration, not anything we can do.
We need to stop striving to prove ourselves to ourselves or other people. We will never measure up if we keep pursuing a moving finish line. It’s OK to want to do better at work or improve at something, but this doesn’t define who you are. Imagine how much less stress and anxiety you might live with if you accepted this as truth!
Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey
At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. We are currently going through a new sermon series titled “To Hell With Normal.” It’s all about redefining what we consider normal in life as we seek to make our lives more like the way Jesus would have them to be.
Do you want to grow in your faith or are you simply curious about who this Jesus guy is? You’re not alone. We encourage you to listen to our series online and welcome you to come to one of our Sunday morning services in Valrico, Florida.