A fellow asked me the other day to describe the mind of a workaholic. He is soon to become a member of an amazing group; that of fathers. His son is set to be born in early September, and we had a conversation in our men's group at church about the issue of parenthood; its glory, frustration, and anxiety. It was here where the question about workaholism came forth, as we sat waiting for the Sunday School leaders to release my kids. It was a simple question, "Joe, what goes through a workaholic's mind?" I could have written a book with my answer.

Workaholism is real, and it can corrupt your mind, body, and soul if you allow it to reach that far into your life. It has a grip on you. It doesn't let go. It takes on a life of its own, to the point that you feel useless outside of work. It secretly whispers to you all your faults and your weaknesses, and it tells you that you cannot survive without bowing to its demands. You become so wrapped up in workaholism that you give it life. You make it breathe. It becomes everything about you, and you don't recognize who you are without it. You can look in the mirror, but you lose your identity. Your being becomes your work, and that work always has unattainable expectations. You lose track of your priorities, and you hurt those closest to you. You hurt them, not by your actions, but by your lack of them. Once you're deep into that hole, everything becomes dark around you. You tell yourself that you will change the demon, but you can't change what you don't recognize. Since it's now a part of your existence, it's like air or water. You need it to live. You can't explain it, and you can't expect others to understand. It tells you that you are weak, that you are a failure, and that you are nobody. You alienate your loved ones, and you lose yourself.

I hope that young man never experiences that torture, but too many people do these days. It is a dangerous road, and it's difficult to right yourself once you had stepped too far. It's just not worth it.