EXOD390 In contemporary society, marriage and family are often balanced against the values of work. Judaism prizes work: "Six days show you labor and do all your work [this verse]. Jewish sources make it clear that work is important for the welfare of society as a whole, for its contribution to the psychological health and self-worth of the individual, and for the economic support it affords to oneself and to one's family.[See, for example, M. Ketubot 5:5; Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 2:2; Avot de Rabbi Natan 11; B. Nedarim 49b; and Tanhuma Vayetze, sec. 13]. For some people, though, the secular work ethic prevalent in contemporary society has made work the sole value, a virtual idol. Judaism would have us recognize the idolatry inherent in a life devoted exclusively to work and would have us balance our commitments to work with serious time and energy spent on other important values, most especially those of family. Overzealous commitment to work does have a deleterious effect on one's sexual and family relationships, and the Jewish tradition would have us remember that one's family should take precedence over one's job.