Click Here for Sound Bite

There is a workaholic in the Bible, and he's found in the book of Ecclesiastes. This is what he said:

Ecclesiastes 4:7-8 -- Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless-- a miserable business! 

This passage in the Bible describes a man who was alone. Why was he alone? There was no end to his toil, and his eyes were never content with his wealth. In other words, he always wanted more, so he worked more to get more.

At the end of his life he asks the question, "Whom am I toiling?" He's essentially asking, "Who am I working for and what purpose is my work?" He has no one to share his wealth with, and no one to share his dreams with. He has no one to share life with because there's no time. He hasn't taken the time to invest in relationships, and he has no time for anyone because all he does is work.

He also asks, "Why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This man was too busy working that he had no time for fun, for hobbies. He didn't get to enjoy life around him or with anyone because he was working. His eyes kept telling him more is better, but he later realized this was a lie.

He evaluated his life and came to the conclusion that life was meaningless.

I guarantee this man's advice to us would have been the advice Paul gave to Timothy and the Church of Ephesus in 1 Timothy 6:10:

"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows."

Because this man craved more he ended up piercing himself with many sorrows. He became depressed and purposeless.

In summary, the workaholic would say, "No amount of money will compensate for loneliness."

Are you a workaholic?

• Do you spend most of your waking time either working or thinking about work?
• Is the first thing you do when you wake up or the last thing you do when you go to bed check your email or phone for messages?
• Do you have trouble turning your work off when you get home (if so, check out my post "5 Ways to Turn Off Your Work and Turn On Your Wife")?
• Do you constantly look at your phone?
• Do you have trouble finding a hobby other than work?
• Do you have trouble finding time for your friends?

If the answer is yes to any of the above questions, you might be a workaholic. 

Work is important, and sometimes we have to work extra hours to finish a project or get out of debt. However, if you are finding yourself always working 60+ hour weeks with no end in sight, you will lose out on investing in others, and your health will give out.

At the end of our lives, do you really think we would look back and say, "I wish I worked more." Absolutely not!

Take the advice from the workaholic and invest time in your relationship with Jesus, your family, friends, and self.