A Christian Guide to Burnout

WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ

As modern westerners, much is often expected of us. The average person is often under immense pressure from various facets of life. We have responsibilities upon responsibilities. Bills, job, relationships, children, hobbies, housework, the list goes on seemingly forever. Often, we become so entranced in our daily responsibilities that days and even weeks blow by without us even noticing. Accomplishing one task only means we move on to the next. 

While many of us are energized and even enjoy the business of modern life, others are completely overwhelmed. Suffering in silence, the pressures of life begin to split the seams, piling up task after task until we are crushed under the weight. Some people turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the stress. Others may turn away from God and fall into depression.

The Diagnosis

If you’re experiencing undue stress, it’s likely you are dealing with a burnout situation. You’re also not alone. Although modern conveniences seem to have amplified the ramifications of burnout, it is nothing new. When our first parents sinned against God, he told them that toil and stress were now going to be a defining aspect of the human experience:

cursed is the ground because of you;

    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face

    you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

    for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust,

    and to dust you shall return.

Genesis 3:17-19

Notice that it is not necessarily work that is part of the sentence of sin (Gen 1:28). Adam and Eve worked in the Garden before sin entered. Rather, it is toil that is described as the plight of humanity. Because of sin, the earth we are to subdue begins to reflect us. Like us, It becomes stubborn, obstinate, and difficult to maintain. Sustaining life will now become a monumental task. Instead of relying on God to provide, it is now each man for himself.

The Solution

Although sin brought toil and struggle into creation, God made a covenant with Israel, through whom a savior would be brought forth. Jesus bore all of the stress and anxiety of our lives on the Cross. This is why he can say to us “in this life you will have tribulation, but fear not, for I have overcome the world!” Because Jesus has put the sin of our first parents to death in his body, we are told “come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-29). When we yoke ourselves to Jesus, he promised to pull the weight of our lives. He upholds and strengthens us to endure all of life’s stresses and anxieties. Because of what Jesus has done, we need not fear anything life throws at us.