The Circular Path of Stupidity

There is a new phenomenon working through the world right now. It is called “Quiet Quitting”. In this new craze, people are not straight leaving their jobs, they are just doing the bare minimum required to keep their jobs. Now, there are some gospel implications for christians who are doing this (Colossians 3:23, Ecclesiastes 9:10), but I would like to discuss this Quiet Quitting in relationship to what is actually happening in our minds.

It doesn’t take a medical doctor to diagnosis people are not happy. That we as a species are stuck in what seems like an endless loop of waking up too early, going to a job we hate (but need), working too long, getting off too late, getting home too stressed, running through too many errands, going to bed too late, only to get up the next morning and do it all over again. This circular path of stupidity has many people today looking for new ways to escape our lives.

Cortisol levels (the stress hormone) are at an all-time high. So is suicide, depression, burnout, and mental health disorders. Do we honestly think this is simply coincidence? That as people we are more stressed than ever, weigh more than ever, and are more violent than ever? Again, just looking at cortisol in our blood stream, this hormone effects our stress levels, weight loss/gain, even our sleeping patterns. So is there something to this Quiet Quitting phenomenon?

Think about it, most of your adult awake hours are spent at one place, your job. With 80% of Americans hating their job, that means 80% of us have higher cortisol levels for extended periods of time. This means our chances for things like strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, and mental health breakdowns are also elevated. This is where the Quiet Quitting has come into play. People are finally waking up and going, “my life is worth more than….” People are starting to realize this circular pattern of stupidity doesn’t have to continue to go on.

Think about it Biblically, in Psalm 139:13-14 David writes “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made”.

Now, I am not trying to argue we are all snowflakes and as such are deserving of a trophy for waking up. Nor am I arguing we are not made to work (work was created before sin in Genesis 3), what I am saying is this, most of us are not doing what we are designed to do. Most of us fell into a job, it was life’s situations that put us where we are, doing what we do. Even those of us that had a plan, we notice the plan we had looked so much different than what we thought it would.

However, I am arguing most of us are bound by our situations, and as such, feel trapped in this vicious cycle, that is ultimately leading to poor health and a lower quality of life. Think back to when you were a child, we dreamed of being an astronaut, a doctor, a fireman. We looked to the heavens and said we were going there. We played games like climbing trees and pretending it was a space ship. We lived life, and we were not afraid to dream. The reason shows like America’s Got Talent, American Idol, Shark Tank are so successful is because we see people who are not afraid to have their dreams, and live them. With every winner, it gives us hope that we too will one day get to live out our dreams.

It is with this in mind that I ask, that I argue, what is stopping you from dreaming? What is stopping you from living your dreams? The answer for most of us is fear, we are terrified that if we exit this circular pattern of stupidity that our future will be lost. We will not be able to retire, we will not be able to eat, to live. Isn’t this what Jesus is arguing in Matthew 6? Be anxious for nothing, if God feeds the birds, He will feed you too. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Those dreams you have, God put them there, go back to Psalm 139.

It is those who are not afraid that break this cycle, that get to live the life they dream of. They get to love each day, instead of dreaded the morning. They countdown to the next morning, not the next weekend. They live their life, not survive it.

So with that in mind, what is it keeping you from your dream, and do you have the courage to live life differently to touch your dreams? Are you content living the rat race, or is there something burning inside of you for more? Are you sitting here frozen going “only if”? Get out of the race, I know it is scary, I know the unknown looks like a beast, but remember faith isn’t saying I believe….

But because I believe I will do!!