This is a guest post from Scott Couchenour from Serving Strong – resources and coaching for the ministry leader to avoid burnout.
If a trillion dollars was compared to a trillion seconds of ordinary clock time, it would equal 31,546 years. If you spent $1 every second, it would take 31,546 years to spend $1 trillion.
Put another way: If someone were to build city blocks that contained 10 homes valued at $100,000 per home, you would end up with 10 houses to a block, 10 blocks to a mile and a hundred blocks per square mile. It would take 10,000 square miles to reach $1 trillion in value (an area larger than Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island combined)
If you’re watching the news at all, the US Government’s deficit is over $14 trillion dollars. Fourteen trillion dollars?! Dave Ramsey, cover your ears! Do the math. With our time comparison, if you spent $1 per second, it would take you 441,644 years to spend $14 trillion.
That’s Absurd!
No one in their right mind would continuously spend more than they earn, right? Doesn’t take very long to reach a tipping point when, month after month, what goes out is more than one comes in. That why people are so interested in “balancing the budget”.
This post is not politically motivated. It’s about your ability to serve strong. When you serve others you are expending your energy. Like money, you are making a withdrawal. If you aren’t depositing back that energy (through rest, reflection, play) over time you will start to notice you, too, are “deficit spending” your energy.
Circadian Rhythm
We live within certain laws of nature – gravity, for example. Try to break the law of gravity by jumping off a 10-story building but I wouldn’t suggest it. All your “want” in the world won’t change the law. We also live with the law of rhythm – Circadian Rhythm. For example, grass grows – we cut it. We wake – we go to bed. The sun rises – the sun sets. Our fingernails grow – we trim them… on and on it goes. Circadian Rhythm is everywhere you look. And it’s a law we try to fool at our peril. Give and give and give without replenishing your energy. You may succeed for a while, but the law of rhythm will catch up to you. It may be a nervous breakdown or pneumonia, but you can be sure – you can’t expend energy without receiving rest.
So, the next time you start to sense fatigue (which is not a good tired) in your service to others, ask yourself, “Have I been deficit spending my energy?”
Your turn: What ways do YOU make deposits into your life?
I try to focus my energy and resources only on what is eternally relevant and important. It seems so much of the world today is filled with wants and desires that are trivial in comparison to the the amazing gift we’re given in Jesus and the Good News. We’re blessed in the most simple ways.
Great post Scott!!
Thanks, Chris. Yeah, the world looks totally different when eternity is the backdrop, huh? In light of eternity, our goals, dreams, plans, strategies… (everything) takes on a whole new meaning.
Thanks for the great post Kevin. In the future the govt may have to increase taxes or cut spending in order to reduce the deficit. This may cause reduced incentives to work
Thank you for the reminder to take time out to replenish. Too often it is easy to get caught up in all that needs to be done. Very quickly it shows not only in fatigue but also in your mood and temperament. When our bodies see depleted of rest and relaxation we find ourselves snapping at the silliest things
“Snapping at the silliest things” could be an early warning sign that we’re getting close to our set account limit (like a bank that notifies when an account balance reaches a certain pre-set limit).
Hi Scott,
I never knew that the US Government has a deficit of 14 trillion dollars!
Thanks to this post, I have been enlightened somewhat on the way on how I spend my energy throughout a day. Too much work and no play/rest can really take its toll on you eventually. On the other hand, with adequate rest and relaxation, we can function perfectly in everything else we need to do in a day. Prioritizing things to do should also be taken into consideration, so your energy won’t just drain away from doing something that’s not very important – that’s what I think.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Scott,
Relating the crazy world of finance to our personal lives is a bit of an eye opener.
Thank you.
Deficit spending in our lives, taking too much out of ourselves without feeding ourselves, temporally or spiritually leads to burn out. Todays society seems to encourage burn out and overwhelm. It is no wonder that so many of us are suffering from stress and depression.
I actually get energy and upliftment from service. It feeds me.
But we cannot give positively if we do not look after ourselves.
Best wishes
Peter
Peter – You are right. Society (at least American society, from my experience) does perpetuate a burnout and overwhelm existence. It’s a current we need to stand strong against. Thanks for your comment.
Very nice post! it can onsidering us to be more wise in using money.
Hi Scoot,
Thank you for willing to give this information very useful for me. I agree with you we should invest our time off. We do not waste our time off. Sometimes I also forget to invest my time off. By reading this article I just remembered to have to invest my time off.
God bless you,
Martha
Thanks for sharing Martha!