Why Do People Work So Hard?
Ecclesiastes 4:4 Then I thought, “Why do people work so hard?” I saw people try to succeed and be better than other people. They do this because they are jealous. They don’t want other people to have more than they have. This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.
As someone who believes in hard work (and I do!), as I’ve grown older and hopefully a tad wiser I’ve come to realise that hard work has a dark and dangerous underbelly. It’s that underbelly that we’re going to chat about today.
The desire for success is what appears to make the world go round these days – at least in many people’s lives – and, up to a point, wanting to be good at what you do is a good thing. But way too many (me included, back in the day) will sacrifice the most important things in their lives – their marriage, being a positive part of their kids’ lives, their ability to impact their community for good – on the altar of success.
So you have to ask yourself sometimes … why do people work so hard? Or, more to the point, why am I working so hard? And if those are questions you’ve been asking yourself, then you wouldn’t be the first. In fact, some three thousand years ago, King Solomon of Israel wrote this:
Ecclesiastes 4:4 Then I thought, “Why do people work so hard?” I saw people try to succeed and be better than other people. They do this because they are jealous. They don’t want other people to have more than they have. This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.
So … a difficult question for you. If you’re someone who’s prone to overworking yourself, how much of that (honestly) is down to jealousy – plain and simple? How much of that is because you don’t want others to have more than you, hmm?
A word of warning: This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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