Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the corporate world is familiar with what one New Yorker article calls “The Cult of Overwork.” Consider this excerpt from the article (Source):

In a culture that venerates overwork, people internalize crazy hours as the norm. As the anthropologist Karen Ho writes in her book “Liquidated,” “On Wall Street, hard work is always overwork.” Grinding out hundred-hour weeks for years helps bankers think of themselves as tougher and more dedicated than everyone else. And working fifteen hours a day doesn’t just demonstrate your commitment to a company; it also reinforces that commitment. Over time, the simple fact that you work so much becomes proof that the job is worthwhile…

Scripture stands in stark contrast to this worldview. While God created and emphasizes the importance of work, He also commands His people to rest:

He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” (Exodus 16:23)

Interestingly, the same New Yorker article describes the problem with this idolization of overwork, demonstrating that God’s instructions really are better. Consider this second excerpt from the same article:

The perplexing thing about the cult of overwork is that, as we’ve known for a while, long hours diminish both productivity and quality. Among industrial workers, overtime raises the rate of mistakes and safety mishaps; likewise, for knowledge workers fatigue and sleep-deprivation make it hard to perform at a high cognitive level. As [the global co-head of investment banking at Goldman Sachs] put it, past a certain point overworked people become “less efficient and less effective.” And the effects are cumulative. The bankers [one university professor] studied started to break down in their fourth year on the job. They suffered from depression, anxiety, and immune-system problems, and performance reviews showed that their creativity and judgment declined.

As this secular source points out, those who fail to manage and steward their time well experience negative consequences. God’s Word offers a counter-cultural guide for stewarding time in a way that is both pleasing to the Lord and conducive to human flourishing.