This Week's Light Service Sermon

Light Service Sermons for the Month
The Profession Obsession: Hope for the Workaholic
The Secret to Job Satisfaction
DATE: April 26, 1998
TEXT: Luke 10:38-42

Sandi walked into the board room where the staff of her small business was gathered. Her company, under her inspiring leadership, has been extremely successful so far. As she sits down it’s apparent that something is wrong. During the course of business tears fill her eyes. After a while she interrupts the discussion to say that she has something important she needs to share.
She tells her employees that she has been having tests for numbness, blackouts and memory loss. The results have just come in. Apparently the nerves and connective tissues in her neck are frayed, a condition that’s irreversible.

After a few moments of stunned shock she’s asked what caused the problem. She replied: “The doctor’s say it’s executive stress. For eight years I have been working 90 hours a week to get this company up and running. I love it. We’ve been successful and now I’m paying the price.”

Someone says to her, “But you have to stop. You’re killing yourself.” To which Sandi says, “I know I am. But I can’t stop. I just can’t stop.”
Sandi obviously has a problem. But her problem goes much deeper than frayed nerve endings. Sandi is a workaholic. In other words, she’s moved from loving her work to being addicted to her work.
What makes her problem even more challenging is that workaholism is a behavior that many American’s admire. We marvel at those who tirelessly climb the corporate ladder, giving 110% of themselves to the job. We admire those who put in the long hours and even take their work with them on their vacations. Those are the kinds of people we want on our team. After all, they’re the kind of people successful corporations are built on. Their commitment to their work is impeccable.
You see, we live in a country that promotes workaholism. Baby Boomers, up until recently, lived to work. Their sense of worth and value, their sense of fulfillment, grew out of their jobs. So they poured themselves into work to feel good about themselves and to feel satisfaction in life.
And with today’s high stress job market, with companies and businesses demanding more from fewer people, those of us who do have jobs feel the pressure to be all things to all people, to function at peak levels seven days a week for fear we will lose our jobs to someone more charismatic, more dedicated, more addicted than we are. And, of course, there are plenty among the powers that be who believe there is always someone better, who can do our job better.
Along with that, corporations feed into the problem by rewarding those obsessed with work. It seems the deeper the addiction one has to work, the more he or she is singled out as an example to follow. As one person put it, workaholism is the only addiction we applaud.
But as we look behind the facade, we see the painful truth. Workaholics actually cost companies money and time because they are less productive than their healthy counterparts. They are often control freaks who assume so much responsibility they foster dependence among their staff. They leave in their trail broken, disillusioned families who continually wait for them to come home, but find that, even when they are home, their mind is still at work. Families of workaholics are often filled with rage and resentment because work addicts are emotionally unavailable for them. And for workaholics themselves the addiction is devastating--leaving them burned out, alienated, and empty.
Anyone who loves to work or anyone who wants to do a job with excellence, runs the risk of job obsession. Some of us here today are bonafide workaholics. Others of us may be flirting with it. And still others of us, unaware of the problem, can be sucked into it. It’s one of the hazards of working.
The good news is there is hope for the workaholic. Work addicts can be set free from their struggle. And we can enjoy and even love our jobs without being obsessed by them.
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at workaholics, what their characteristics are, and what God has to say about restoring balance to our lives. But before we do, let’s pray together:
Dear God: You gave us work for our health and for our well-being. You gave us work that we might contribute to the healthy and well-being of others. You gave us work not as punishment but so that we might be co-creators with you in the world. Thank you for that privilege. Forgive us for feeling we are the only creators in the world. AMEN
A six year old boy once asked his mom, “Mommy, why does Daddy always have to bring home a briefcase full of papers every night?” Mom explained that Daddy had so much work to do that he couldn’t finish it at the office. After a moment of thought, the little boy asked, “Then why don’t they just put him in a slower group?”
Workaholics are obsessed with work. Actually they’re obsessed with being busy and work is the way that they keep themselves busy. They’re the first ones to work in the morning and the last ones to leave at night. They work on weekends and even bring their work on vacation with them, if they every get around to vacation.
They say they do it because they love their jobs. But actually, in an attempt to cover up emptiness or pain, they become addicted to busyness. Workaholics share many common characteristics, and I’d like to share four of them with you today.
1) First of all, workaholics have low self-esteem. They believe deep down that people will not accept them for who they are so they work hard to cover up their sense of inadequacy. They tend to exaggerate their achievements and downplay their failures.
2) Secondly, workaholics are unable to relax. Workaholics run on hyper-adrenaline. It makes them restless and sometimes sleepless. They have an endless array of tasks that must be accomplished, and when those are done, they find new ones. Their need for work robs them of the ability to enjoy a day off or vacations.
3) Third, workaholics have a lack of intimate relationships. Because their work is often a cover up for a deep hurt, work addicts are out of touch with their feelings. They can never slow down to take the time to develop intimacy with themselves, their friends and their family.
4) Finally, workaholics are over-driven. As I’ve said before, they’re addicted to action. They’re obsessed with their work. They eat, breathe and sleep work. They cannot say no to work and it’s demands.
Healthy workers, on the other hand, may exhibit some of the same outward behaviors as workaholics, but their lives are much more balanced. They, too, love their jobs. They, too, will put in overtime if need be. They, too, will give 110%. However, when a job is done, healthy workers are able to feel good about it. Unlike workaholics, healthy workers don’t get panicked or depressed when the desk is clean.
Healthy workers take time for personal relationships. When they get tired, they take time to relax. They take vacations without bringing work along. They see work as only one facet of life, not as the driving force of life.
Again, the good news is that workaholics can experience healing and relief from their addiction. And those of us on the verge of workaholism can put the balance back into life. Because God cares about our lives, he shares with us some keys that can help bring the balance and healing we need when it comes to our jobs. And in closing, I’d like to share four of those keys with you.
1) First of all, if you sense you’re a workaholic, I encourage you to seek out professional help. More often than not, workaholics are covering up pain or hurt. And as you begin to deal with that pain and hurt, it will bring balance not only to your job but to your entire life. God wants you to experience healing and wholeness, and one of the ways he bring that about is through competent Christian counselors.
2) Secondly, to bring balance to our lives we need to learn to set limits. We need to know, up front, what we will or will not do for the job. What we will or will not sacrifice.
As I was preparing for the ministry, I had many pastors who gave me the same advice over and over again. They said, “Don’t let the ministry rob you of your family. Take time to be with them. It’s not worth it to lose them.” And this often came from pastors who failed to admit their own workaholism and hurt their families in the process. Ministers are conditioned to be martyrs because of their desire to serve. And there are so many who want a piece of them.
We need to know what we will or will not sacrifice. And it’s OK to say no to certain things. If you value your family, or if you value your health, and the job will rob you of these, then it’s OK to say no, no matter how crucial the task may seem. It’s important to remember that workaholics are actually less productive than those who maintain balance in their lives.
One of the ways to stay within those limits is to write them down. If you have a family, get their input. Or seek out a close friend, or even your boss, and honestly decide together how to be productive and balanced at the same time.

God tells us that health comes when we know who we are and live accordingly. We need to now what our limits are.
3) Third, we need to have some fun. For some workaholics, this will be very difficult. Because they honestly believe that their work is the way they have fun. So they’ll have to learn how to have fun outside of the job.
There’s true story about a family that had planned a month-long vacation to the west coast. Just before they were to leave something came up at work and Dad had to stay behind. But Mom and the kids decided they would take their vacation anyway so they loaded up the car and headed out.
Dad was able to finish his work and decided to surprise his family. He had their travel plans so he flew to the city where they would be stopping for that night and took a cab out to the highway they would be traveling. When he saw their car coming, he quickly stuck out his tumb as a hitch-hiker. As Mom and the kids drove past they did a double take. “Wasn’t that Dad?” one of the kids asked. Mom hit the brakes, Dad ran to the car and everyone enjoyed their reunion.
When a magazine reporter later did a story on this experience, he asked Dad why he did such a crazy thing. Dad responded, “After I die, I want my kids to be able to say, ‘Dad sure was fun, wasn’t he?’”
This workaholic Dad was beginning to learn the joy of having fun. He was also discovering what’s really important in life.
There’s a legend that one day a hunter found John, one of Jesus’ followers, sitting on the ground playing with some birds. The hunter was surprised that John had nothing better to do than play with birds and said so. John looked up and asked, “Why is the bow on your shoulder unstrung?” The hunter replied, “Because if I always keep the bow taut, it will lose its spring.”
John answered, “For the same reason, I play with these birds.”
Workaholics are always wound tight. And eventually they lose their energy, their spring, and their steam. By learning to have fun, by learning to relax, they keep their edge and better enjoy life.
4) Finally, balance comes in life when we find our fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
One day Jesus was visiting his friends Mary and Martha. Mary, eager to be with Jesus, sat at his feet and listened as he told his great stories of faith. Martha, on the other hand, busied herself with household duties. She was so obsessed with her work that she couldn’t slow down long enough to listen to Jesus or enjoy his company. After tiring herself out she complained to Jesus, “Why is it that I’m here slaving away while Mary sits around doing nothing?”
I think Jesus was deeply moved by Martha’s question because he no doubt understood the pain that movtivated her to work. So lovingly and compassionately he said to her, “Martha, you’re distracted by many things. And it’s robbing you of joy. But look at Mary. She has chosen to focus on what’s important in life.”
Workaholics pour themselves into their jobs because they feel empty on the inside. Or because they’re hurting. And they’re afraid that if they slow down, they’ll have to listen to that hurt and emptiness, and it’s too painful to do so.
However, Jesus tells us that if we’ll slow down and listen, we will be able to hear his gentle, tender words of encouragement. As we focus on him he’ll come and set us free from the emptiness. He’ll heal the hurts. He’ll bring balance to our lives. He’ll fill us with everything we’re looking for but can’t find in our obsession with work.
The ultimate hope for the workaholic is found in Jesus Christ. Everything you’re longing for is available in a relationship with him.
I encourage you to be like Mary. To slow down and focus on what’s really important. To listen to what Jesus has to say. And what you hear, the words of encouragement, love, and meaning, will transform your life forever.

AMEN