Is everyone ready for Labor Day? Is the grill clean? Is the picnic table set? Hot dogs? Hamburgers? Potato salad?

Okay, so let’s talk about what this holiday is really about – work.

Over the years, it has become quite clear to me that I am a workaholic. I am not happy when I am “relaxing” and doing nothing. The lovely Maria will tell you that I am not a good moviegoer – sitting in a chair for two hours is torture.

Being a workaholic has come in handy during my newspaper career. Twelve-hour days and seven-day weeks can be pretty normal, especially when you’re trying to publish a local newspaper with a small or no staff.

That’s not a complaint. I liked everything. Or at least almost everything.

As you know, I’m now effectively retired, writing this column and working 40 hours a week in the private sector. And I do a little bit of work for some really great nonprofits in town.

So maybe I’m still a workaholic. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I believe we are designed to work. I am not against gaming at all and I agree that it is important to have at least some sort of balance. But if you are not working, you don’t have much to live on, let alone enough to afford gaming.

I would like to ask you to indulge me a little here. I will try to illustrate my point by quoting from the Bible. It is intended to be my rule book for life, so thank you for your patience.

(A small disclaimer: I do not know these verses by heart and have used some pretty sophisticated search engines to find the exact quotes.)

The first point is very important to me. “But anyone who does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

That’s what I learned on my father’s lap. That’s what he did and that’s what he expected from me.

Trying to put this truth into practice has consequences. For example, who are “relatives”? As we have grown older, the definition has expanded considerably.

One of the dumber consequences of this rule is my obsession with paying for things – especially restaurant bills. My kids have sometimes conspired with waiters to make sure they get to pay at least part of the bill – on my birthday, our wedding anniversary, things like that.

The downside is that I don’t give them the pleasure of “supporting” me, their family.

Are you thinking about supporting the work of charities?

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for if we do not give up, we will also reap in due time.” (Galatians 6:9)

A more common and general cliche is “You reap what you sow.” If you don’t plant a seed, you can’t expect a grain of wheat. I admit, I like this cliche because it somehow promises that something good will come from hard work.

Here is a similar example: “A lazy hand makes one poor, but the hand of the diligent makes one rich.” (Proverbs 10:4)

Great promise, right? But it’s not quite that simple – I’ve noticed this in many proverbs. What happens when someone can’t work? Or worse, what about those who work hard and still live in poverty?

There are many admonitions in the Bible to rely on God rather than on yourself. This is certainly true when it comes to salvation. One of Jesus’ best quotes on this subject is Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

God knows I’m trying. I think it’s God’s fault, not mine.

But the default switch seems to keep flipping back to “I’m working.” I fear that I’ll end up saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7.

I have great respect for work and those who do it. I hope you find a balance between work and relaxation in your life.

I hope you have a nice Labor Day where you don’t have to work so we can carry on the next day.