Working Hard or Hardly Working?

“Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭16:6‬

There's a common question that I've heard asked when someone is conversing with another person that perhaps they haven't seen in a while. The questions is, “Working hard or hardly working?" I've spoken those words, and now that I think about it, I'm not sure why? I think that at times we are just trying to make conversation. It also depends on the context. If your boss is asking that question, while you're at work, he may not be trying to make conversation. And there may only be one good answer, "Working hard, boss."

When I've been asked the question, Working hard or hardly working, it feels awkward to me. I think, "Is there something I'm not doing that I should be?" Responding, "hardly working", would not feel right to me. I want to make good use of my time by staying busy, and not doing so, is ungodly to me.

Hard work, on the other hand, is a virtue in my mind and in the minds of many. In both the business world and in church culture, hard work is commended. A busy Pastor is a good Pastor. You never hear a Pastor being commended for getting adequate rest. He's commended for going over and above. He's commended for making sacrifices. In Romans 16:6 the Apostles Paul commended other believers for their hard work. I want to have that reputation. I don't want to be known as being lazy. But I'm also aware of the dangers of burnout. I'm aware of this, not only because I know of others that have grown weary, but because I've have recently found myself feeling worn out.

So when I read Romans 16:6, I thought, how do I work hard without burning out? The answer is found a few verses after, in Romans 16:12. Paul writes, “Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord" (Romans‬ ‭16:12). Twice in verse 12 Paul used the phrase "in the Lord" to refer to those who he commended for working for the cause of Christ. What does it mean to work "in the Lord?" To work in the Lord is to work for him, not for the approval of men, and in reliance upon His power (Col. 1:28-29; 2 Tim. 2:15). I'm to work hard at doing everything that He wants me to do in His power and leave the results to Him (Col. 3:23-24).

There's a difference between just working hard and working hard in the Lord. Simply working hard, because that's what you feel you must do, can lead to feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of life and the expectations of others. But working hard in the Lord will lead to being an overcomer, which is a believer who strives in the strength that God's supplies and for His glory.

In addition, a believer who wants to continue to work hard in the Lord, must rest well in the Lord. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬

Recently, I read the following words from a Pastor, who found himself in a season of burn out: “No matter what our job or life phase, it’s hard to avoid being busy in our society. Wei all have things that keep us sprinting from one thing to the next. I once heard someone say, “If I were the devil, I would invent a device you could hold in your hands that would ensure you’d always have your schedule in front of you and give people access to you anytime they wanted.” Ouch!

Once this Pastor told a friend, who was advising him to slow down, "The devil never takes a day off! His friend replied, “I’m not sure the devil is supposed to be your example!” He went on to write, "During those busy years, I hated to hear the word rest. I didn’t even want to talk about it, although I had trouble avoiding the topic when I studied Scripture—specifically the Ten Commandments. It was hard to get past the fact that the one commandment God spent the most time explaining was the one on rest. Finally my counselor told me, “The Bible calls those who will not work lazy, but it calls those who will not rest disobedient.”

In both secular and church culture, where leaders are praised for their hard work, that statement hit me right between the eyes. No one has to tell me to work hard. It's a value that I learned from my Father, not from the First Lady's speech at the DNC. But it's very easy for me to neglect to rest and justify it and even feel good about it.

There are times when Pastors will have weeks were the unexpected happens and to make up for lost time, we stay up later and get up earlier. God gives grace for these times. But he also gives us wisdom to delegate. As I heard Pastor Lucas say recently, "Church ministry is not suppose to be a one man show." And as I heard my friend Daniel Henderson say, "No is a Christian word."

Therefore working hard in the Lord requires that we delegate, and say no to some good things, so we can priorities the best things, including rest. We can only do somethings well. If we do too many things, we won't do anything well. And to be our best, we must also get our rest. It's not an option. It's a biblical priority modeled by our creator from the beginning.

Physical rest and spiritual renewal are vital to the health and effectiveness of a Pastor. When we fail to do so, it may be that we are finding are identity in our work and not in the Lord. On the cross, where Jesus gave His life for our sin, He cried, "It is finished." Jesus is our rest and our redeemer. May we learn what it means to work hard in the Lord!