Modern life often pushes us into a frenetic pace for productivity. As a consequence, health, relationships, and spiritual well-being can be neglected. But those of us who are followers of Christ in the marketplace are called to strive for balanced living, reflecting the values of God’s Kingdom in all areas of our lives. The “8+8+8 rule” offers a simple model to help us achieve this balance: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, and 8 hours for leisure and personal activities. With God at the center of these areas, we can live intentionally and with purpose.

Work (8 hours). The Bible teaches us that work is a divine calling. In Colossians 3:23, we are reminded:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” When we apply this perspective, work becomes a way to worship God, serving others with excellence and dedication. In our work, we seek to reflect the three H’s: Honesty (Proverbs 12:22) – “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy”; Humility (James 4:6) – “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble”; and Humor (Proverbs 17:22) – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” These principles can transform the work environment.

Author Tim Keller wrote, “Christians should be fully engaged in work as complete people, dedicating their minds, hearts, and bodies fully to do the best work possible in the task at hand.” When we place God at the center of our work, everything becomes an expression of His grace and purpose in our lives.

Rest (8 hours). God teaches us to rest. Rest is not just a pause, but a form of physical, mental, and spiritual renewal. In Exodus 20:8-10, the command to set aside time for the Sabbath reminds us:
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” Rest is a way to trust God as our provider and our sustainer.

Here, the three S’s can guide us: Silence (Psalm 46:10) – “Be still, and know that I am God”; Solitude (Mark 1:35) – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed“; and Sabbath(Exodus 20:8-10). Dedicate time to listen to God’s voice, reflect on His Word, and rest in His presence.

Leisure and Personal Activities (8 hours). God created us to live in community, and this includes moments of leisure and interpersonal relationships. In Ecclesiastes 3:1, we are reminded: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Leisure and personal activities should include time with family, friends, and also with God.

Here we can use the 3 F’s – Faith (Hebrews 11:1) – “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”; Family (Ephesians 5:25) – “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”; and Friends (Proverbs 17:17) – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity” – help us stay focused on what truly matters, strengthening our relationship with God, others, and ourselves.

By following the “8+8+8 rule,” aligned with biblical principles and the 3 F’s, 3 H’s, and 3 S’s, we find a path to live more balanced and intentional lives. Balance is not a luxury, but a necessity to fulfill our purpose as we work with excellence, rest with trust, and cultivate God-honoring relationships.

© 2025. Erenia Mendoza is the National Director of CBMC Brazil and a member of CBMC International’s Global Leadership Team. She also serves on CBMC’s Executive Committee for Latin America. Born in Nicaragua and raised in Brazil, Erenia built her career in the Entertainment industry, specializing in Distribution and Marketing for films and series. She has worked with and for major studios, including Sony Pictures and The Walt Disney Company, across Latin America.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. How would you define having balance in life? 
2. How successful are you in achieving a measure of balance and a proper perspective about different areas of your life? Do you think that having a balanced life sounds like a good idea, but is basically wishful thinking? Explain your answer.
3. Why it is sometimes so difficult to achieve a proper balance of work, rest, and leisure and personal activities? What are some of the obstacles or threats to enjoying a balanced life?
4. What role – if any – do you think the spiritual dimension of our lives play in our desire and successful achievement of balanced living? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Exodus 35:30-31,35; Psalm 37:7, 46:10; Ecclesiastes 5:18, 8:17; Mark 6:31; Colossians 3:17

Challenge for This Week
If you realize your own life’s work/rest/leisure balance is not what it needs to be, it might seem difficult to find time to reassess how your days are being spent. However, if you do not start working to achieve the desired balance, it will never happen by itself.

Try to schedule a time to meet with a mentor, trusted advisors or your CBMC group if you are in one to discuss where you are in this respect, and where you would like to be. Be willing to consider suggestions and advice.

Have you ever heard someone say, “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”? This was a reality I learned in profound ways years ago when I was the editor for the magazine CBMC published, CONTACT Quarterly. Much of the writing and editing fell on my shoulders, but I was fortunate to have a small team of people who contributed greatly to the content and graphic design.

I remember going into planning meetings armed with my own ideas for how the magazine should come together. But during several hours of “creative conflict,” we always arrived at decisions that were much better than I could have come up with alone. Everyone had made valuable contributions. The finished product always exceeded our expectations. Because the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.

This was where I learned the truth of two Bible passages that I’ve never forgotten:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!… A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

Business and professional leaders are often tempted to work alone – setting goals, devising plans and choosing strategies without encouraging input and feedback from people who will be responsible for implementing them. At best this is exhausting; at worst it is a path to failure.

We find an excellent example of this in the Bible’s Old Testament book of Exodus. God had chosen Moses to lead the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt. During their journey to the land God had promised them, he had taken upon himself the responsibility for resolving conflicts great and small that developed among the many thousands of Israelites.

Moses was serving as judge for the people from morning until evening, leaving both him and the people worn out and irritable. His father-in-law, Jethro, observed this and recognized Moses’ folly in attempting to do this all by himself. “What is this you are doing for the people?” he asked. “Why do you alone sit as judge, while these people stand around you from morning till evening?… What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone” (Exodus 18:14-18).

Jethro suggested an alternative: To appoint “capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain” to serve as judges over all but the most difficult cases. He said, “That will make your load lighter…. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied” (Exodus 18:21-23). Moses accepted his father-in-law’s wisdom and adopted that plan, delegating judicial responsibilities to everyone’s satisfaction. 

We would be wise to heed the same advice. Whether CEO, high-level executive, manager, entrepreneur, or lower on the corporate ladder, we all have much to benefit from utilizing the strengths, talents, gifts and experience of others that complement our own. As 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

© 2025. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; and The Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. When have you worked on a project with others in which the result clearly showed that the same outcome could not have come about by working separately or in isolation? Did you find it gratifying to realize the benefits of collaborating together? Explain your answer.
2. The proverb says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man [one person] sharpens another.” Have you ever experienced this? In what ways?
3. Why do some people seem set on working independently rather than encouraging and welcoming the participation of others in the process? Do you think it is a matter of pride or ego, or lack of trust and confidence in the capabilities that others have? Why or why not?
4. How do you think you would react if a ‘Jethro’ approached you and pointed out some flaws in your approach to work, perhaps ways that delegating responsibility or using the strengths of others could prove to be beneficial?

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Ephesians 4:15-16; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 4:10

Challenge for This Week
Maybe you are someone who enjoys teamwork, collaborating with others in a well-organized team to accomplish specific goals and objectives. If so, this week would be a good opportunity to observe how others around you work. If they are more inclined to work on their own, you might try to find ways for encouraging them to utilize the abilities of others to become even more productive.

If you are one of those who enjoys being a “lone ranger,” working independently of others, this could be a time for reassessing that approach. Is it working the best for you? You might discuss this with a trusted friend, advisor, mentor, or your CBMC group if you are part of one. What wisdom do they have to offer you?

By Christopher C. Simpson 

Beginnings captivate us. Endings bring relief or celebration. But leadership? Leadership happens in the middle – the long, unglamorous stretch where the path forward is not always clear, where crises emerge uninvited, and where the weight of responsibility presses down with relentless force.

This is where most leaders live. You are managing a team, making decisions, building something meaningful – and suddenly, you are caught in the middle of something far bigger than you expected. An economic downturn. An employee on the brink of collapse. A moral crossroads you never saw coming. The middle is unpredictable, messy, and often exhausting. And it’s right here that leaders begin to ask: What in the world is happening?!

Here is the challenge: The middle is where fear thrives. When outcomes are uncertain, the temptation is to seize control, retreat, or wait until clarity arrives. But what if clarity never comes? What if God is calling you to lead, not with certainty, but with trust?

Think about Israel’s story in Exodus. We know the dramatic beginning: Joseph, miraculously raised to power in Egypt, preserving God’s people. We know the triumphant ending: Moses, the plagues, the Red Sea splitting open to provide divine deliverance for the Israelites. But what about the middle?

For 430 years, generations were born, worked, and died in slavery – clinging to promises they never saw fulfilled: no signs, no timeline, no explanation of how their suffering fit into God’s plan. Yet, history shows us what they could not see: God was working. Behind the silence, His plan was unfolding, preparing a deliverer, setting the stage for redemption. The middle felt like chaos. But it was not chaos. It was divine providence.

That is where so many leaders stand today. We celebrate success stories and hear about defining breakthroughs. But no one talks about the slow, grueling middle – the years of unseen faithfulness, the sacrifices that feel unnoticed, the tension of not knowing if your efforts will ever pay off.

Yet this is where God is at work. Your leadership is not just about hitting targets, executing strategies, or climbing the ladder. It is about being faithfully present where God has placed you. And the astonishing truth of Scripture is that He does not wait for you to figure it all out before He moves. He’s not waiting at the finish line with crossed arms. He is in the middle. In the uncertainty. In the pressure. In the very place you are tempted to try to escape.

And here is the best news: God is not asking for fearless, flawless faith. He delights in leaders who just keep showing up, even when they feel like they are barely holding on.

So, if you are in the middle right now – leading through uncertainty, shouldering burdens that feel beyond you – know this: You are not abandoned. That thread you are desperately clinging to? It is anchored to an unshakable God. Leadership is not about your ability to control the future. It is about trusting the One who already holds it. Hold on.

© 2025. Christopher C. Simpson is dedicated to fostering a bold and triumphant Christian faith within the global marketplace, driven by a deep conviction in the Gospel’s transformative power. Before becoming President of CBMC International, Chris dedicated 28 years to a distinguished career in the public sector – as a Commanding Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps; and serving in the U. S. Secret Service, responsible for protecting seven American presidents and leading elite teams in complex, high-stakes international missions. With his wife Ana, a native of Nicaragua, Chris resides in Boca Raton, Florida. 

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. What does it mean to lead with trust rather than certainty? How have you seen God work in situations where you lacked clarity?
2. How do you recognize God’s presence in the “middle” of your leadership journey? Can you recall a season where you felt you were waiting on God?
3. Why does God often work behind the scenes instead of giving us immediate answers? How does the story of Israel’s 430 years of waiting in Egypt while enslaved challenge your perspective on God’s timing?
4. What temptations do leaders face when they feel out of control, and how can we respond faithfully? How can Scripture help you resist the urge to act out of fear rather than faith?
5. How can we encourage and strengthen others who are leading in the uncertain middle? What can you do to remind your team, colleagues, or family that God is present in their uncertainty?

Biblical Passages for Further Exploration
Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” A reminder that leadership is about trust, not personal control.

Exodus 3:7-8 – “Then the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry… And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.’” God sees, hears, and acts—even when it feels like He is silent.

Psalm 27:13-14 – “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Encouragement for those in the middle, learning to wait with faith.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” A perspective shift on suffering and perseverance in leadership.

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” A promise of God’s presence and sustaining power in difficult leadership seasons.

Challenge for This Week
When was the last time you found yourself in the ‘uncertain middle’? Perhaps you find yourself there now. This week it might be good to schedule time for you to discuss with others – a trusted friend, mentor, or your advisory group – what you are currently facing, seeking God’s perspective on those challenges.