Too often, I know of Christians who back away from kingdom work because they’re overwhelmed by high-stress jobs, family responsibilities, or time-demanding hobbies. They begin with good intentions—perhaps even passionate commitment to Christ’s body, but as life piles on obligations, it seems the first thing to be cut is their involvement in the church.
Why is it that when we find ourselves stretched thin, stressed, or weary, the natural response is to give up on serving the Lord to make room for everything else? That seems backward to me.
Should we be involved in our work and care for our families? Absolutely. These are God-given responsibilities. But when God’s work gets the axe while worldly commitments remain untouched, something is out of order.
Yes, we can be overburdened. Even Scripture acknowledges that life can be overwhelming. Moses reached a breaking point trying to carry the load of leadership on his own.“I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me”(Numbers 11:14). Burnout is real. We were never meant to carry everything alone. However, the solution is not to cut out the eternal to manage the temporary.
Jesus tells us to seek the Kingdom first. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). When the kingdom becomes the last thing we attend to, we’ve turned Jesus’ way of prioritation on its head. It’s not that work, family, or hobbies are wrong, but they were never meant to take the throne of our time and energy.
Let’s re-evaluate our commitments, not our faithfulness. If we have overextended ourselves, it’s time to assess our worldly time investments instead of spiritual service. Paul says, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The context centers around the truth of the resurrection and how it should motivate us to continue to work knowing that its not for nothing. The principle carries over to our over all commitment to Kingdom work. Abounding in the Lord’s work isn’t about being perfectly balanced every moment. It’s about holding firm to the mission, even when life is demanding. We may need to let go of something, but let’s not make it the life-changing eternal work of the kingdom.
Let’s remember to put God first and let everything else fall into its proper place. If something needs to be laid aside, let it not be the church’s work. Let’s teach ourselves and others that rest and retreating are necessary, but volunteering and working in the kingdom should not be the first things we give up so that we have a day off. “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
In Christ alone,
Alex Mills