Psalm 127:2
It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep
It feels good to have coffee first thing in the morning, have our breakfast, get ready for work, then descend to the hustle and bustle of the city until late at night. Our day-to-day cycle is very exhausting. Sometimes we would leave our home with a heavy heart, but we have to push ourselves to the limit to compensate our efforts. What is that supposed to mean for us? Today, the majority of people work tirelessly for a number of reasons. Obviously, because of poverty, financial rewards, health benefits, debts, leisures, perks, etc. According to Morley D. Glicken, “workaholism” means that you value work over any other activity, even when it negatively affects your health and family, as well as the quality of your work.
The psalmist used the word “painful” which is the same idea in Genesis 3:17. The word painful in Hebrew is “etseb” meaning, a hurt, pain, toil, idol, labor, or sorrow. A very common word for male workers.
Notice the word “hurt” this is a warning for all of us. I mean, there's pain because of too much work. On top of that, the negative impact of being a workaholic is idolatry. You will no longer acknowledge that God is the number one priority in your life. You swap your faith and family just for material things. You always think about work, and without work, you feel worried and depressed.
The word “vain” or “shav” in Hebrew meaning, emptiness, vanity, deceitful, falsehood, lie, or worthless (see Ecclesiastes 2). God doesn’t want you to be like an orphan. He builds your home, protecting it, and sustaining it. Thus, being a child of God, He wants you to put your complete TRUST in Him because He is the source of everything we need!
