July 26th, 2020: Being Burned Out
Being Burned Out is more common than people think sometimes. It is
no longer just about men either. I have met people from all walks of
life who are feeling burned out. There are many contributing factors to
that. Some are personal, and some are professional. Some are emotional,
and some are spiritual. Personally, I don't think that it is in God's
desire for us to have such an experience.
We
take ourselves too seriously. There is a difference between being
committed to what we do and taking ourselves too seriously. Sometimes we
fail to understand that the more we are committed to what we believe
in, the less we should become. When we put ourselves in the centre of
that commitment, we are undermining its meaning and value. I have seen
pastors who see more of themselves than God in their ministry and the
outcome of that is not pretty. We witness both spiritual and emotional
burnout.
We don't take time to sit back and to
regain perspective. Sometimes, we need to have the freedom to remove
ourselves from the centre of attention so that we can see things with a
different understanding. If we don't do that, we eventually will see
less and less effective in what we do. That will breed frustration and
depression. Removing ourselves is indeed an act of courage and humility.
When
we allow other voices to have more say than the voice of God. We want
to do well in our field of work. We want to be the best. All of that is
not wrong by itself. However, when we allow ourselves to believe that
other people don't matter in our search for excellence, we are listening
to the wrong voice. It is the voice that leads us to further
destruction and alienation. I have met with many successful
businesswomen and businessmen whose kids would not want to acknowledge
them.
We need to be aware of the need for
popularity and acceptance. We want to see things clearly but we see
nothing but the shadow of our broken and insecure self.
Psalm 111: 10
"The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it
have a good understanding. His praise endures forever."
