When I tell my friends that I wake up at 4:30am – 5:00am daily, I often get these replies, “What?”, “Why do you wake up so early?” “What do you do so early?”

It is a fact that in the current culture, people tend to overwork. I don’t think they generally want to overwork but it becomes an expectation from management when employees get drilled with statements such as “you all need to learn to do more with less“. Other ways of interpreting,… yes, you get more work but your pay remains. Yes, your cost becomes cheaper per hour. So, one wonders,…where does the money go to? Shareholders? Of course there’s the exception for those who are workaholics. If you are a workaholic, bear in mind that you should not expect your team members to all be workaholics like yourself. (Don’t try to convert them either.)

I’ve been in the (8am-5pm) workforce for so long that it actually feels like it’s 7am – 7pm and sometimes at night or early in the morning (when it’s required). Of course, it’s not written but if you have a lot of work that you can’t finish in the 8am-5pm slot, what other choice do you have?

While I don’t recommend that as believers, we laze around but we also need to be good stewards of our bodies – which by the way has an expiry date. (Overworking will affect our health.)

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT)

Sometime before my father passed away, my hand pain got so bad (repetitive strain injury) that after a doctor’s visit, I was given an entire week off because I needed to rest my hand. No typing / mousing. I couldn’t even unscrew the cap of a bottle. Though I was in pain, that was a treasured moment for me as I had more time with my father.

Recovery took a long time. This day, I still feel the pain when I spend too much time working (anything involved typing and using the mouse). Yes, I was already using the ergonomic mouse. I then changed the mouse, and used a more expensive (better?) mouse. But I take breaks in between. This is also why I appreciate the work from home lifestyle.

I was contemplating making my day of rest more real. I try not to work on Saturday/Sunday and found the sermon by Robert Morris which I found really impactful. If you’re constantly overworking and (if) you think promotion comes from all the hard work, then you’re not really trusting God.

Bible Verse

⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NLT)