How Do We Overcome the Feeling of Always Being Busy?
Lessons from Moses on avoiding burnout
Gordon Gecko, in the movie Wall Street, proclaimed “lunch is for wimps.” Although we have moved on from the extremes of the 1980s, the need to look busy remains a marker of status, not least in the church as noted by the pastor, Eugene Peterson:
I live in a society in which crowded schedules and harassed conditions are evidence of importance. I want to be important, so I develop a crowded schedule and harassed conditions. When others notice, they acknowledge my significance and my vanity is fed. The busier I am, the more important I am. (Eugene Peterson, Christianity Today)
The pressure to be busy can have its consequences. A 2018 study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, found that approximately 15–25% of workers in the European Union experienced symptoms of burnout.
Burnout can be defined as a “state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.” According to Professor Teena Clouston of Cardiff University, there are two main aspects of modern life that drive burnout:
…intensification in work — [employers] expect more and more of people in the same time[frame] and with the same level of resources. Another problem is the 24/7 always-on approach, infinitely achievable through modern technology.
Yet this problem is not limited to our day. Even Moses struggled with burnout.
Feeling overburdened
In Numbers 11, Moses was leading the people through the desert. He was doing his best. But for the people, that was not good enough. They longed for the meat, garlic, and fruits of Egypt.
Moses was called by God. Through him, the people had been emancipated from hundreds of years of slavery. After all the miracles of the exodus, would his mission end in failure? Where was God?
A right way and wrong way to complain
When we are going through tough times, Christians can feel pressure to keep positive. Neither Moses nor the people had any reticence about complaining. But there is a right and a wrong way of lamenting to God.
Starting with the wrong way, the people “complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused” (Numbers 11:1, NIV). God heard their complaints — not because they called out to Him for help — but because they were grumbling amongst themselves, wallowing in their own self-pity.
Moses’ complaints are no less frank — to paraphrase “It’s not fair!” “I want to die!” Yet he is not rebuked. Why? Because he directs his complaints to God:
He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? … If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me — if I have found favor in your eyes — and do not let me face my own ruin.” (Numbers 11:11–15, NIV)
God is patient and wants to hear our fears and sorrows. Jesus calls to us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NIV)
We will always disappoint someone
The criticism of the people weighed heavily on Moses. As Eugene Peterson pointed out, the fear of disappointing people can make us lose focus:
By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically, at the last minute, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which is essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone.
Moses felt discouraged and a failing leader. He was allowing the people’s demands to direct his mission.
Learning to delegate
This was not the first time that Moses was overdoing it. Earlier in the book of Exodus, Jethro (his father-in-law) was concerned by Moses’ overwork:
“What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?…Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” (Exodus 18:14–18, NIV)
Jethro advised Moses to share the burden. As a leader, Moses should train others in God’s law so that he could focus on the more difficult cases:
…select capable men from all the people — men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain — and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens…That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” (Exodus 18:21–23, NIV)
Moses wisely listened to his father-in-law. But he needed another reminder. This time directly from God.
Recognising the gifts of others
I had a senior colleague in a previous job who struggled with delegating. He was shrewd, smart, and fun to work with. But he was constantly overworked because he needed to be involved in everything.
It’s not easy to delegate. It requires us to take time to train and trust others. Some people will disappoint us. But Moses had reached a breaking point. He could no longer handle the complaints of the people.
God’s response was simple and practical. Like Jethro, he told Moses to delegate. He was ordered to identify leaders from among the people. God would equip them to do their duty:
The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people…I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.” (Numbers 11:16–17, NIV)
Moses was learning that there are plenty of other people capable of doing what we can. They might do it differently, but that’s OK. Everett Worthington, Professor of Clinical Psychology, points out this is key to growing in humility:
A major component of humility is being able to step away and let somebody else take the reins, as well as to be open to trying something new. (Everett Worthington, The Path to Humility)
God’s arm is not too short
Moses had another lesson to learn. God in his mercy promised to provide meat for the people. But Moses responded with one of the classic signs of burnout — cynicism:
“Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” (Numbers 11:21–22, NIV)
Moses had forgotten this was the same God of the exodus. Just as it is difficult to delegate to others, it can be difficult to trust God with a task too big for us to do in our own strength.
But that’s the point. It is true that God won’t stretch us beyond what we can bear. Yet we learn most about His faithfulness when we face situations out of our control:
The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” (Numbers 11:23, NIV)
Application
When we are exhausted there is a lot to learn from Moses:
- Turn to God with our complaints — He is patient and wise.
- Be led by our calling and values, not by the need to please others.
- It’s OK to need others — we shouldn’t be ashamed to ask for help.
- God is in control — we learn the most about the faithfulness of God when we are not in control.
