This is something I wrote to someone who went through a very hard experience which, for lack of a better word, has been labelled burnout.
I think burnout can have a range of dynamics at play. My brother, who is a psychologist, would probably say that burnout occurs when we get our work/life balance out of balance.
I like Richard Nelson Bolles' Three Boxes of Life model. Many people separate school, work and play in this manner: They go to school/college first, then work hard so they can play when they retire. Bolles recommends an alternative. He says we learn for life, work for life and play for life simultaneously.
I believe the Judeo/Christian concept of Sabbath is, among other things, specifically designed to keep us from getting burned out. Perhaps part of the problem for some could be their consumerism convictions. I need one more boat, one more ATV, one more car, a bigger house, which all creates extra stress when you have to moonlight to pay for it all.
In 1993 I worked full time, wrote a book and a Hollywood screenplay for a Disney producer. My wife wanted me to go house hunting with her and it literally made me suicidal for a weekend (Eastertime). I said my deadline for the book was August 1 and I would look then, but she could house hunt with a friend. I was aware of my limits. We signed paperwork for the house on Aug 7 and yes, moved before winter. I finished the screenplay in Oct but never repeated that year again. Just because we CAN accomplish more doesn't mean we SHOULD always push the speed limit. (I'm talking to my self here.)
Perhaps this is one reason God included the Fourth Commandment among the Ten. The Sabbath was not intended as a burden but as a gift. The God who made us knows our limits. He understands that machines can run continuously, but people cannot. Rest is not a sign of weakness. It is an acknowledgment that we are creatures, not the Creator. The Sabbath reminds us that life is sustained not merely by our labor, but by God's provision.
Burnout often comes from believing that everything depends on us. The Sabbath reminds us that it doesn't. For one day each week, we are invited to stop striving, stop producing, and remember that God is still God while we rest. The Fourth Commandment is not a restriction on our freedom. It is a protection against our tendency to drive ourselves into the ground.
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