Anchors Away
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.
Proverbs 23:4
They had a swimming pool in the backyard, a five-bedroom, thirty-two-hundred-square-foot home on seventy well-groomed acres, a cabin in the mountains, and stress that wouldn’t be assuaged! Brad and Beth worked nonstop, six days a week, and never seemed to have enough time to relax and enjoy the things they’d worked so hard to obtain.
Brad could still hear his father assert, “Be the best at what you do, Brad.” He’d taken it to heart. He was the CEO at Corporate HQ and Beth was a successful civil attorney. Top in their individual fields, they had gone on numerous business vacations over the years for business personnel only. Their kids were being raised by a nanny and seldom saw their parents during daylight hours. It had all seemed so grand in the beginning; now it seemed as if they worked too hard and missed too much just to pay the bills.
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Having material possessions is not wrong in and of itself. However, how we make use of those possessions and our time does matter. Brad’s father had died young, leaving Brad as the man of the house at an early age. What Brad had thought of as sound advice had driven him to his version of success. He had achieved the top of the hill. But since Sundays were their only day off, they spent them maintaining their property, including spring cleaning and fall closure of the cabin, which was mostly rented out to people they would never meet. They hardly ever had time for family outings, rarely used the pool, and never made it to church. All the things they held precious had turned out to be anchors around their necks. Brad remembered how in Sunday school his father had told the class, “We should live our lives as pleasing unto the Lord.” Somehow in his youth Brad hadn’t made the distinction between working like a dog and working for the Lord. It was time to make some changes.
Prayer
“Father, please give me the wisdom to know when I’m working for me instead of You. Help me to know when enough is enough. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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