By Luke Chia

“The grind never stops.”

It’s a common expression of youth these days that they have to constantly work hard in school in order to excel in life. Caught up in a scary trend, they enrol in multiple tuitions to secure the maximum score at national exams, while taking up numerous “portfolio-boosting” inter-school competitions, community service and personal projects.

During my first year in university, I stayed on campus, joined several campus residence and faculty committees, and even crammed additional modules to explore different career paths. What seemed like a great opportunity to broaden my horizon at the start of the semester, turned into a workaholic nightmare within the first few weeks!

Most of my time was spent in class, or in my cramped room slowly churning out my weekly assignments. Gradually, work took over my life, leaving little room for God.

After ‘sidelining’ God for nearly four months, God spoke to me through the book of Ecclesiastes during a Christian retreat. The author has indulged in all his desires, including work, yet he finds all his toil eventually amounts to nothing—all his pursuits on this fleeting earth will disappear. Ecclesiastes 4:6 was timely: Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. (ESV)

Circumstances vary among us, but the point stands—always set aside time away from work for some peace and quietness to meditate on God and His Word, rather than overload ourselves with work, which is ultimately futile. In hindsight, I should not have taken up so many commitments, most of which have not benefited me in the slightest.

At their age, youth believe the world is their oyster, and they can live however they want. They toil for pleasure and career only to find the end result is merely temporary, like chasing after the wind. Instead, we encourage them to always keep God in the centre, and thank Him for the opportunities He gives in pleasure and work.