Work-life Balance

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Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, may Your Spirit of faithfulness live in me so that I can move through each day in peace and trust.

Read Exodus 18:1-27

^[1] Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. ^[2] After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her ^[3] and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; ^[4] and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.” ^[5] Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. ^[6] Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” ^[7] So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. ^[8] Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them. ^[9] Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ^[10] He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ^[11] Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” ^[12] Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. ^[13] The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ^[14] When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “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?” ^[15] Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. ^[16] Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” ^[17] Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ^[18] 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. ^[19] Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ^[20] Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. ^[21] But 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. ^[22] Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ^[23] If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” ^[24] Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ^[25] He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ^[26] They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. ^[27] Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Meditate

“I would rather have seven people do the work than do the work of seven people” (D.L. Moody, 1837-1899). We need to share the load with others, so that we do not wear ourselves out!

Think Further

How do you balance your responsibility to family and to work? Multi-tasking is less easy than some imagine, so we often cope by compartmentalizing our lives. The danger is that we become a different person at work, home and church. Moses may well have sent his wife and family home to protect them from the dangers of Egypt, but it also set him free to concentrate on the demanding task ahead. The problem is that distance can often weaken our ties. Many who have to work away from home have been exposed to temptations that otherwise they might not have faced. The formality of this meeting indicates that there may have been some “repair work” to undertake.

Jethro works to reunite the family and encourages Moses by recognizing the Lord’s hand in his work. By this support he makes it easier, later, to offer a suggestion to help Moses cope with his leadership responsibilities. We are always more inclined to listen and act when those who give us advice have our best interests at heart. Moses was being worn down by his responsibilities and was in danger of believing he was indispensable.

Jethro’s advice is to establish priorities and to delegate. Moses’ primary task is to listen to God and to stand between God and the people. However, while major matters still ought to come to him, a filtering process will enable specially selected judges to deal with lesser matters. These judges must have both ability and integrity. They would have the opportunity to judge over increasing caseloads, depending on ability and experience. The plan made sense and in no way diminished Moses. The gift of administration (1 Cor. 12:28) is not one of the more-admired gifts but it can often bring a real blessing to many.

Apply

How does Jethro’s advice apply to your current situation? If you have any leadership role, identify individuals to whom you should prayerfully delegate some responsibilities.

Closing prayer

Lord, sometimes I have an issue with control. Give me wisdom to observe the gifting You have given others and the ability to relinquish tasks to them.

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