Work Hard; Play Hard

There are several verses in the book of Proverbs and the 31st chapter that speak of a working woman. Just because a woman may not be employed outside of her home doesn’t mean that she doesn’t “work,” and on the same note, if a woman does have a job working outside of her home, it doesn’t mean that the only “work” she does is at her job. It is hard work to take care of your husband and family as well as your home, and if you’re single, it’s also hard work simply to take care of yourself. No matter what the conditions of working are, it’s fair to say that every woman works.

Balance is the key to a healthy life. While we see that our Proverbs 31 woman is a master of taking care of her husband, she is also the same at taking care of herself and her house. She lives a balanced life because she doesn’t devote herself wholly to one single thing. She makes use of all her talents and spreads herself to cover a number of duties. We read in verses 11 and 12 how she cares for her husband. We read in verses 17 and 22 how she cares for herself. We read in verses 15 and 21 how she cares for her house.

We also read in verses 13, 14, 16, 19 and 24 how she busies herself in “working.” We read how she works with her hands, how she brings food and meat to her house, how she buys and cultivates land and how she produces a product and sells it. All of this is done on top of her other responsibilities. She is a busy woman! And that’s a good thing. Verse 27 tells us that she “eateth not the bread of idleness,” and we learn from Proverbs 19:15 that “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”

But it all comes back to balance and like my pastors say, “Work hard; play hard.” If you’re always running around like a chicken with your head cut off because you’re so busy and bogged down, you’re of no use to yourself or your family. Even God rested after working hard (Genesis 2:2,3). Pastor Paula White notes that overloaded people fail in life, and that is so true.

Webster’s defines balance as “the agreement of totals in the debit and credit of an account.” Too far in either direction puts you off balance. Whether your debit account has too many entries because you give out so much of yourself that you’re physically, emotionally and spiritually depleted or whether your credit account is overflowing because you’re lazy and taking too much “me” time, being off balance is costly.

When you take your car in for maintenance, many times they will balance your tires. If your tires are not balanced properly, your car will automatically steer itself in the wrong direction and it becomes harder for you to keep control of where it goes. Anything that is off balance will go in the wrong direction, including YOU!

It’s not as hard as it may seem to maintain a full, balanced life. If you feel yourself getting to a breaking point, just remember that YOU can do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens you. And always keep first things first: your personal relationship with God! Without that being in order, you will inevitably become off balanced and find yourself going in the wrong direction. Ask God to show you any area of your life where you may be unbalanced, and also ask for His strength to bring those things into order. When God is FIRST and your life is balanced and in order, God has more to work with and more to bless. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”