Malyon Workplace

Work and Life: Balance, Juggle, Chaos or More?

GJH PIC March12 bHard work?

Recently, I?listened?to a talk?given to a group?of Generation?Y people. The?speaker was a?young man in his?late 20?s and the?title was ?living a balanced life?. Looking at the?speaker, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and at?the audience, I assumed somewhat arrogantly,?that this would be an argument for a laid-back?lifestyle, involving a minimum of work and effort?and a maximum of relaxing on the beach and?partying. Wrong! It turned out to be a very wise?and helpful biblical exposition about the virtue of?hard work and its value in the sight of God. [Read more…] about Work and Life: Balance, Juggle, Chaos or More?

The big juggle- balancing work and family: Graham Hooper

A good friend of Malyon Workplace, Graham Hooper, recently spoke at a Melbourne City Bible Forum breakfast event.

You can watch the whole presentation here and read Andrew Laird’s summary of what Graham had to say Laird here.? The key questions that Graham addressed were:

  • ?What is my calling? (Hebrews 12:1-2)?
  • ?What do I really value?? (Matthew 6:19-24, Mark 8:34-37).
  • ?What relationships has God entrusted to me?? (Ephesians 5:21-6:4, 1 Timothy 5:3-8).

I liked this concluding comment from Andrew:

One final reflection that Graham made is to encourage us to recognise that workplaces keep functioning long after you’ve left. ?The corporation is designed to survive without you. The machine is designed to drop you off and keep going?. This truth alone goes a long way towards reorienting our perspective on work in relation to our families, and so helps us as we seek to navigate the complex issue of balancing work and family responsibilities.

 

 

 

http://lifeatwork.org.au/content/big-juggle-balancing-work-family

The Gospel at Work ? How do I balance work, church and family? (Chapter 6)

The Gospel at WorkThe next practical issue that the authors of?The Gospel at Work?(TGaW) turn to is what is often called work-life balance.? ?How do you remain fruitful and faithful at work when you also need to be fruitful and faithful as a spouse, parent, neighbor, and church member?? How do you do it all in the mere 168 hours that comprise a week?? ask the authors.

Well, the first step suggested is to realise that our one and only first responsibility is discipleship to Jesus (Matt 6:33, Col 3:23).? All our other responsibilities are sub-ordinate to being a disciple of Jesus.? When we realise this, life is not a juggling act with competing demands on our time and energy but rather we see following Jesus as our, ?? primary, overarching, undergirding assignment ? [that] will last long after every other assignment is complete.? [Read more…] about The Gospel at Work ? How do I balance work, church and family? (Chapter 6)

The Myth of Work-Life Balance – Kate Harris

Great article from Kate Harris,??Executive Director of the?Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture, writes about the issue of work-life balance. ?

The truth is we all long to have things set right, to shake out, to settle down.?Accepting that in Christ we are most likely to experience these things in the midst of?even through?relationships and circumstances that feel disparate, extreme, or weighty, is a realistic and helpful truth…despite its?counter-intuitive?feel. At the end of?the day, we are not seeking a balanced life so much as a faithful life. And a faithful life mirrors Christ. It reflects a God who bore complexity and constraint, pain and limitation, rather than a God who merely kept it all in check.

Harris argues convincingly that, consistent with the life of Christ, coherence and sustainability are better descriptors or goals for Christian living.

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