Let’s face it, we all have too much to do and not enough time to do it. One of the areas in my life I have always struggled with is that of maintaining the balance between time at home and time at work. Whether it’s activities with the kids, or church activities, or hobbies, I always found myself having to choose between “shorting” my family life for the sake of my career, or “shorting” my career for the sake of my family. Most of us face those same daily decisions. It’s a tough decision sometimes, especially with bills to pay and the economy as it is.
I have certainly been guilty of choosing more career time, and less family time, as I’m sure all of you have at some time or another. I would imagine that many of you are facing this dilemma as you’re reading this Blog. I used the same excuses you probably use or have used. “If only I work hard now for the one more promotion, I’ll be set for life…” “If I can just get this one new position, I’ll be able to spend more time at home…” You’ve heard the same lines. You’ve probably used them yourself to justify your decision of choosing career over family.
Let me tell you from experience, choosing career over family is not worth it. I’m not against ambition, but I’ve never met anyone that has retired who says that they wish they had spent more hours at work. While they might have enjoyed their career; they don’t wish they had spent more time there. There have been many times in my life that I believe my family suffered because I made the wrong decision to short family for the sake of career. It’s not worth it. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that it’s not worth losing fellowship with a spouse or child, for the sake of a few more hundred dollars each month. Each time I did make the correct choice and choose family time over career time, it was amazing how God always worked out the details. The job promotion I thought I really wanted turned out not to be so great after all. The new company I wanted to work for ended up going out of business a few months after I would have accepted the position. I can promise you that your career will always work out. You only have one chance, most of the time, to make things right with your family. Do you really want to jeopardize the relationship with your spouse and children for the sake of a career move? Trust me; you don’t.
There are some of you who are feeling tremendous stress and pressure trying to make this balance between family and career work effectively in your life. I would encourage you to step out on faith—and it’s a big step sometimes—and put your family and relationships FIRST. Doing so will almost immediately eliminate the stress and pressure that you’re currently facing at home and make you much more effective at your career. You’re feeling the stress because you really know in your heart what you should be doing, but you’re making the decision based on worldly logic, and not your heart. Make the decision today based on your heart, not your mind. You’ll be happier. Your family will be happier and your career won’t suffer. Trust me; I’ve been there.
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