14/08/2021
Fr. Rolheiser on OVERWORKING:
As we become more and more immersed in our work, to the detriment of our relationships, we will also naturally begin to draw more and more of our meaning and value from our work and, as numerous spiritual writers have pointed out, the dangers in this are many. Not least among these is the danger that we will eventually find it harder and harder to find meaning in anything outside of our work.
Old habits are hard to break. If we spend years drawing our identity from working hard and being loved for being anything from a professional athlete to a dedicated mum, it will not be easy to simply shift gears and draw our meaning from something else.
Classical spiritual writers are unanimous in warning about the danger of overwork and of becoming over-preoccupied with our work. This is in fact what Jesus warns Martha about in the famous passage in Scripture where she, consumed with the necessary work of preparing a meal, complains to Jesus that her sister, Mary, is not carrying her share of the load.
In a rather surprising response, Jesus, instead of chastising Mary for her idleness and praising Martha for her dedication, tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part, that, at this moment and in this circumstance, Mary's idleness trumps Martha's busyness. Why? Because sometimes there are more important things in life than work, even the noble and necessary work of tending to hospitality and preparing a meal for others.
Idleness may well be the devil's workshop, but busyness is not always a virtue.
