For All Who Labor and are Heavy Laden

As I’ve gotten older pain and discomfort are becoming more prominent in my life. The wear and tear of age is beginning to take its toll. In the past I would always find a way over, around or through problems. It wasn’t a matter of if, it was when. I would find ways. I was partially invincible. I was durable. I had energy for days. I was dangerously impatient and the impatience for me is till a problem. It injures me. The closer I get to my sixties the more I am being limited by my own body. I am not frail by any means but I know, like a storm on the horizon miles off, frailty is coming. I am on the outer edge of the storm of old age.

In these moments when I am virtually crippled up by back spasms, I get angry at my own body. It refuses to do what my mind wants it to do. It occurs to me that I obviously need to rethink my thinking. God knows this is coming for me and so do I. I also know why. Systems fail over time. It’s the curse revisited by everyone of us through every injury and symptoms of age. I have long suspected that it was entropy that entered the world when mankind fell in sin through Adam. I know its true. In my stubbornness I fight it. The Bible says, to "number our days" in Psalm 92. It is not some morose statement to make us think about our undoing and death. It is just the opposite. It is a plea for God to teach people how short and fleeting life is, so they may gain a heart of wisdom and live purposefully. It is an acknowledgment of human mortality and a call to make each day count by focusing on what is truly important for an eternal perspective. 

We need to stop getting lost in the never-ending emails, to-dos, laundry, homework, conflict resolution, dirty dishes, traffic lines. The unrelenting stress is always pressing in, always swirling, yet no matter how hard we work we never quite get anywhere except frustrated, unfulfilled or worse injured or mentally broken. The stress itself shortening our days because of what it does to our minds and our bodies. But the Psalmist who wrote the Psalm is deliberate. He is asking God to do something for us. Something we should be asking for too. Something I ask for now as I write this.

“So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Teach us. Numbering our days means pausing for regular consideration of our days in light of God’s ways. We were not meant to abuse our bodies and minds until they break. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We need to intelligently preserve our bodies and minds to the best of our abilities. The things I could’ve shouldered down and leaned into now need to be dealt with in a paced structured manner. Efficient use of resources. Efficiency of movement. Efficient use of time. Understanding limitations and knowing when to let tomorrow be tomorrow. Everything doesn’t need to be done today. Sometimes I need to stop pushing myself beyond what my 57-year-old body is capable. Doing it in the gym to test my strength and endurance is one thing. Doing it in life or work outside of a pursuit of passion is the path to a broken body and a broken mind. I speak from experience.

Luke 12:25-26 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Jesus asked a rhetorical question here, that needs to be taken to heart and highlights the futility of anxiety by asking if worrying can add even a single hour to your life. The point is that worry is counterproductive, as it adds no value to your life and can even detract from it, taking away from your time, energy, and peace of mind without bringing you any closer to a solution. If you can do things without breaking your body or fraying your mind, by all means, do them. If they pose a direct risk to your well-being you need to ask yourself this question.

How does it glorify God to drive yourself into the dirt or even an early grave? How does killing yourself to complete a task all at once that can be parsed and made into separate tasks help you give the Gospel to the world. Does it really reflect the mind and behaviors of Christ? I suggest not. It reflects a mindset and mentality that doesn’t trust others to help you complete a task. It’s a mind that insists it needs to have its own way rather than stepping back and seeing that sometimes its about pace not immediate completion. It exposes unhealthy thinking likely driven by sin. When we mindlessly dog and hammer away at a task just to get it done are we really learning anything? Are we really serving God…or Satan?

In Proverbs 6:6-11, the ant is presented as a teacher for lazy people, highlighting its hard work and self-sufficiency by storing food for the future, even without a leader. Proverbs 30:25 further emphasizes the wisdom of ants, noting that despite their lack of physical strength, they are still wise enough to gather their provisions. This passage encourages honest labor but it in no way is encouraging us to kill ourselves to complete a task. Instead, its shows that ants work diligently over time and often in unison with others as a team. By all means, be industrious but a broken back and broken mind are good for no one. The passage also shows priorities. Gathering food is an effort of self-preservation. Mindless and stressful work that accomplishes nothing and gives God no glory is just movement that will inevitably kill or maim.

The Bible teaches patience and pace. Our lives are framed as a long-distance race requiring endurance and rest, not speed. Key concepts include running with endurance, as highlighted in Hebrews 12:1-2, but also finding rest and inner peace by fixing one's mind on God, exemplified by Jesus' unhurried life and the principle of Sabbath. The goal is to run the race long and finish, not just quickly, which involves a balanced rhythm of work, rest, and a deep connection with the Holy Spirit.