God knows that we need balance. I've blogged before about how God rested, in part, because of setting an example to us of the finiteness of work. In spite of the idea of Sabbath in the Bible, it's hard to find time to rest. Work keeps us busy.
In his book, "God on Monday," Benny Tabalujan lists several "Sabbath Spoilers," which are essentially ideologies or myths that keep us from experiencing the work-life balance that God knows we need. One is the idea that we have to make every moment productive. Do you ever feel like, if you stop working even for a minute, you're wasting time. Verses like "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalm 46:10) don't seem to fit with our "got to keep moving" attitude.
Another attitude keeping us from balance according to Tabalujan is mechanistic time management. I have to admit that I struggle in this area--my day planner is divided into 30-minute increments and I am relentless about planning with it. He isn't against using time wisely--it's the over-emphasis on calculating time down to the second, with being more concerned about quantity than quality. I found it interesting as he pointed out that sundials were used for time-telling for most of history, giving only the "broad brush of daily time" and now we have clocks that are accurate down to the vibrations of an atom.
A third myth that steals rest is that our leisure time has to be filled with activities. I know people who can't seem to be happy unless they're doing something. They fidget if left to sit and enjoy an evening, or even worse...talk. I'm far from good at this, but I try to find times in every vacation or trip where we can sit and relax. Maybe it's an newly-discovered book store or a quiet place to enjoy an afternoon. Too often, we need our work to recover from vacation.
What keeps you from restful balance? Note I'm not suggesting laziness or sloth. Only that work be balanced with time to rest, recuperate, and worship.
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Labor, but not too much
God created Adam to work! When God was busy creating the heavens and the earth, His plan was always for humanity to work taking care of His creation. Adam wasn't put into the garden to live a life of idleness—Genesis 2:15 explains that Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to tend to the garden (the real “oldest” profession). Just a few verses earlier, Genesis notes that, after creation but before humanity, “there was no one to work the ground” (2:5). Adam wasn't created to be lazy—he was made to work! Working is part of our nature. What I mean by that is that work is as much a part of being human as our heart or our need to breathe.
Ironically, many of us are celebrating our labor with a day off today. And that's great! Because just as God created us to be working, He also created us to need rest. God rested on the 7th day, not because He was tired, but because His work was finished and He wanted to show us how to pause, how to stop. Sabbath was about taking time away from work to be with family and worship God.
It's important to see work in terms of balance. If we are able to work, God expects us to do so. But He also created us to need rest. The balance is key.
Ironically, many of us are celebrating our labor with a day off today. And that's great! Because just as God created us to be working, He also created us to need rest. God rested on the 7th day, not because He was tired, but because His work was finished and He wanted to show us how to pause, how to stop. Sabbath was about taking time away from work to be with family and worship God.
It's important to see work in terms of balance. If we are able to work, God expects us to do so. But He also created us to need rest. The balance is key.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Rest
Genesis 2:1-3
In your job, are there some projects that seem like they'll never get finished. I have several of those that I'm working on right now. It seems like, no matter how much I put into them, they'll always be more to do. And it's not so bad because I like working on them. But there's the dilemma. Because I like these projects and because they require a lot of work, it's easy to get so wrapped up in them that I forget about everything else. Pretty soon, leaving work at 5:00 becomes 5:30, 6:00, or 6:30, and I get home later and later. Or maybe I start spending the evenings buried in my laptop or smart phone. Pretty soon, it becomes harder and harder to spend time with family on the weekend because I've got too many other things going on.
Does that sound familiar? Maybe for you, it's because you feel like you need to get ahead or impress your boss. Maybe your industry is one of those that has become a 24/7 industry. Whatever the reason, it's become harder and harder to keep work confined to "work" time.
Isn't it interesting that the first mention of work in the Bible is God resting from His work? Look at Genesis 2: "By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work" (emphasis mine). God didn't need to rest. He has infinite power, infinite time, infinite ability to get stuff accomplished. He couldn't have been tired. So why rest? I believe God rested for three reasons.
First, He rested to show that work is temporary, that it has an end. Even God's creation work was finite. Sometimes we get caught up in the business and busy-ness of life that we forget how short our time on earth is. We forget the difference between temporary things and eternal things. God taking time to rest reminds us to keep our work here in perspective.
Second, God rested as an example for us. Remember we are created in His image. Just like God, we have the desire to create, the desire to work. It's how He made us. But unlike God, we do not have limitless endurance. God knew that we would need rest, a time to abstain from work, to catch our breath. There is a story about a traveler in Africa who engaged a local tribe to help him carry supplies on his journey. For several days, they woke early and traveled very fast for the locals knew the terrain very well. On the fourth day, the traveler awoke, eager to make more progress and complete his trip early. But he was confused and exasperated when his guides and companions refused to move. Frustrated, he asked what was going on. Through a translator, they explained that they needed to wait for their souls to catch up with their bodies. God knew that we would need time to pause, in the words of the story, to let our souls catch up with our bodies.
Third, and most importantly, God rested so that His creation would worship Him. Every day is a day of worship and everything we do should bring honor and praise to God. But sometimes, our schedules make extended times of worship difficult. Look at verse 3: "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy" I think God rested on the seventh day because He calls us to take time away from work to honor Him and to worship Him without the distractions of work around us. We still need to work. But periodically, we need time to stop and do nothing but worship.
How does this apply to you? It's a call for balance. Don't let work creep into family time. Take a look at your priorities and make changes if you need to. Then let those priorities determine how you spend your time, rather than letting your time determine your priorities. And as you re-evaluate time, consider where you can add holy rest. I confess that I am speaking as much to myself as anyone else. But I am committing to you that I am taking a hard look at how I spend my time and I challenge you to do the same.
In your job, are there some projects that seem like they'll never get finished. I have several of those that I'm working on right now. It seems like, no matter how much I put into them, they'll always be more to do. And it's not so bad because I like working on them. But there's the dilemma. Because I like these projects and because they require a lot of work, it's easy to get so wrapped up in them that I forget about everything else. Pretty soon, leaving work at 5:00 becomes 5:30, 6:00, or 6:30, and I get home later and later. Or maybe I start spending the evenings buried in my laptop or smart phone. Pretty soon, it becomes harder and harder to spend time with family on the weekend because I've got too many other things going on.
Does that sound familiar? Maybe for you, it's because you feel like you need to get ahead or impress your boss. Maybe your industry is one of those that has become a 24/7 industry. Whatever the reason, it's become harder and harder to keep work confined to "work" time.
Isn't it interesting that the first mention of work in the Bible is God resting from His work? Look at Genesis 2: "By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work" (emphasis mine). God didn't need to rest. He has infinite power, infinite time, infinite ability to get stuff accomplished. He couldn't have been tired. So why rest? I believe God rested for three reasons.
First, He rested to show that work is temporary, that it has an end. Even God's creation work was finite. Sometimes we get caught up in the business and busy-ness of life that we forget how short our time on earth is. We forget the difference between temporary things and eternal things. God taking time to rest reminds us to keep our work here in perspective.
Second, God rested as an example for us. Remember we are created in His image. Just like God, we have the desire to create, the desire to work. It's how He made us. But unlike God, we do not have limitless endurance. God knew that we would need rest, a time to abstain from work, to catch our breath. There is a story about a traveler in Africa who engaged a local tribe to help him carry supplies on his journey. For several days, they woke early and traveled very fast for the locals knew the terrain very well. On the fourth day, the traveler awoke, eager to make more progress and complete his trip early. But he was confused and exasperated when his guides and companions refused to move. Frustrated, he asked what was going on. Through a translator, they explained that they needed to wait for their souls to catch up with their bodies. God knew that we would need time to pause, in the words of the story, to let our souls catch up with our bodies.
Third, and most importantly, God rested so that His creation would worship Him. Every day is a day of worship and everything we do should bring honor and praise to God. But sometimes, our schedules make extended times of worship difficult. Look at verse 3: "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy" I think God rested on the seventh day because He calls us to take time away from work to honor Him and to worship Him without the distractions of work around us. We still need to work. But periodically, we need time to stop and do nothing but worship.
How does this apply to you? It's a call for balance. Don't let work creep into family time. Take a look at your priorities and make changes if you need to. Then let those priorities determine how you spend your time, rather than letting your time determine your priorities. And as you re-evaluate time, consider where you can add holy rest. I confess that I am speaking as much to myself as anyone else. But I am committing to you that I am taking a hard look at how I spend my time and I challenge you to do the same.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Jesus and the Sabbath
Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11; Luke 13:10-17; Luke 14:1-6
As the holiday season ends, perhaps it's a good time to talk about rest. One of the consistent themes in the Bible, beginning with Genesis 2, is the importance of Sabbath, of a time to stop working and honor God. One of the 10 Commandments set aside one day a week for the Israelites to rest from their work and focus on God. As God talked about the holidays and festivals the Israelites were to observe, He emphasized that those holidays were to be days where the people stopped their work and honored Him.
In Matthew 12, Jesus indicates that the Sabbath is more complicated than just not working. Jesus says that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" as He heals and provides for others.
I think this indicates that, yes rest is important. But it's not just about rest from work for the sake of resting. It's rest from work for the purpose of honoring God in contemplative worship as well as honoring God by helping others. You might think about the greatest commandments as applied to a day off--love God and love others with this day. Part of the Sabbath for the Israelites was to trust that God would provide on the day before the Sabbath what was needed on the Sabbath (so work on the Sabbath was lack of trust). Looking at Jesus' actions, part of the Sabbath is taking time to spend helping others, again, trusting that God will provide. Those seem like good things to do, even today.
As the holiday season ends, perhaps it's a good time to talk about rest. One of the consistent themes in the Bible, beginning with Genesis 2, is the importance of Sabbath, of a time to stop working and honor God. One of the 10 Commandments set aside one day a week for the Israelites to rest from their work and focus on God. As God talked about the holidays and festivals the Israelites were to observe, He emphasized that those holidays were to be days where the people stopped their work and honored Him.
In Matthew 12, Jesus indicates that the Sabbath is more complicated than just not working. Jesus says that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" as He heals and provides for others.
I think this indicates that, yes rest is important. But it's not just about rest from work for the sake of resting. It's rest from work for the purpose of honoring God in contemplative worship as well as honoring God by helping others. You might think about the greatest commandments as applied to a day off--love God and love others with this day. Part of the Sabbath for the Israelites was to trust that God would provide on the day before the Sabbath what was needed on the Sabbath (so work on the Sabbath was lack of trust). Looking at Jesus' actions, part of the Sabbath is taking time to spend helping others, again, trusting that God will provide. Those seem like good things to do, even today.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Remembering God
Leviticus 23
There are a number of holidays mentioned throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy during which the Israelites were not supposed to work. I've already written about the idea of Sabbath rest, and I think these holidays echo those thoughts. The point is that God's people need to trust His provision enough to take time off, and that worshiping God is worth setting aside time. Holidays were created so that the people wouldn't forget what God had done, whether that was for their atonement (which celebrated spiritual freedom), their harvest (which celebrated material provision), and the Passover (which celebrated their political independence from Egypt, accomplished solely by God). I think this applies to our workplaces in the need to stop and remember what God has done for us. He provides for our spiritual forgiveness, our material needs, and a host of other things. Dedication to your job is not a bad quality. Just don't forget to stop and worship God, thanking Him for providing.
There are a number of holidays mentioned throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy during which the Israelites were not supposed to work. I've already written about the idea of Sabbath rest, and I think these holidays echo those thoughts. The point is that God's people need to trust His provision enough to take time off, and that worshiping God is worth setting aside time. Holidays were created so that the people wouldn't forget what God had done, whether that was for their atonement (which celebrated spiritual freedom), their harvest (which celebrated material provision), and the Passover (which celebrated their political independence from Egypt, accomplished solely by God). I think this applies to our workplaces in the need to stop and remember what God has done for us. He provides for our spiritual forgiveness, our material needs, and a host of other things. Dedication to your job is not a bad quality. Just don't forget to stop and worship God, thanking Him for providing.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Sabbath
Exodus 16:5, 22-30
cf: Ex. 20:8-11, 23:12, 31:12-17, 34:21, 35:2-3; Lev. 19:3, 19:30, 23:3; Deut. 5:12-15
In the Ten Commandments, God includes a time to stop working for worship. There are something like 600 commands in the first five books of the Bible, but the Sabbath made the "Top Ten." I have already posted about the idea that God might have created us with a need for rest. Some of us take a 5-day work week for granted, but the idea of a day of not working was very counter cultural at the time. It probably made Israel stand out, given that most other nations would work every day. But notice that the Sabbath was not just a day off. There was nothing in the command about going to the lake or getting caught up on yard work. This was to be a time of worship (a "Sabbath to the Lord," 20:10).
So in Exodus 16, God is providing manna and quail for the Israelites in the desert. He tells them that He will provide for them in such a way that they can have a time of rest. And He tells them that they will have to trust him. Every other day, if they gather too much food, it spoils. But they have to trust on the 6th day that it won't spoil because they have to gather two days' worth then.
So what is the application for us today? That is a matter of some debate. There are those in church circles who say that Christians take a Sabbath and not work once a week. On the far opposite end, there are some who say that, because "keep the Sabbath holy" was never repeated in the New Testament, Christians can ignore that commandment. I don't have the answer for that debate, but I welcome comments.
But perhaps there's a bigger picture. Perhaps, a better way to look at this concerns how we use our time (whether we are working or not). There is considerable evidence that taking time off can be beneficial, mentally and physically. That is, your body was never designed to work every waking hour. Perhaps Sabbath was instituted with that in mind. One preacher told me that he was amazed that people could get excited about extra innings in a three hour baseball game or overtime at the end of a three to four hour football game, but if the sermon went five minutes over, everyone was squirming in their seats. Perhaps the call from Sabbath passages is to set aside large portions of time for worship and then rigorously protect that time.
As I blogged earlier, I believe that part of Sabbath is that work time is finite. Even those who are not on 8-5 schedules or shift work need to recognize the finiteness of work in order to allow time for the infiniteness of worship.
cf: Ex. 20:8-11, 23:12, 31:12-17, 34:21, 35:2-3; Lev. 19:3, 19:30, 23:3; Deut. 5:12-15
In the Ten Commandments, God includes a time to stop working for worship. There are something like 600 commands in the first five books of the Bible, but the Sabbath made the "Top Ten." I have already posted about the idea that God might have created us with a need for rest. Some of us take a 5-day work week for granted, but the idea of a day of not working was very counter cultural at the time. It probably made Israel stand out, given that most other nations would work every day. But notice that the Sabbath was not just a day off. There was nothing in the command about going to the lake or getting caught up on yard work. This was to be a time of worship (a "Sabbath to the Lord," 20:10).
So in Exodus 16, God is providing manna and quail for the Israelites in the desert. He tells them that He will provide for them in such a way that they can have a time of rest. And He tells them that they will have to trust him. Every other day, if they gather too much food, it spoils. But they have to trust on the 6th day that it won't spoil because they have to gather two days' worth then.
So what is the application for us today? That is a matter of some debate. There are those in church circles who say that Christians take a Sabbath and not work once a week. On the far opposite end, there are some who say that, because "keep the Sabbath holy" was never repeated in the New Testament, Christians can ignore that commandment. I don't have the answer for that debate, but I welcome comments.
But perhaps there's a bigger picture. Perhaps, a better way to look at this concerns how we use our time (whether we are working or not). There is considerable evidence that taking time off can be beneficial, mentally and physically. That is, your body was never designed to work every waking hour. Perhaps Sabbath was instituted with that in mind. One preacher told me that he was amazed that people could get excited about extra innings in a three hour baseball game or overtime at the end of a three to four hour football game, but if the sermon went five minutes over, everyone was squirming in their seats. Perhaps the call from Sabbath passages is to set aside large portions of time for worship and then rigorously protect that time.
As I blogged earlier, I believe that part of Sabbath is that work time is finite. Even those who are not on 8-5 schedules or shift work need to recognize the finiteness of work in order to allow time for the infiniteness of worship.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
God rested from his work
Genesis 2:2-3
The first mention of work in the Bible is that God finished the work of creation and rested. I think it's interesting that the all-powerful took a breather. He didn't have to, so why rest? Some have said as an example to us. Mark 2:27 says that the Sabbath was made for humanity, so resting as an example is certainly a possibility. God could have rested in celebration for his "good" and "very good" creation. I think, more than anything, God resting indicates a finiteness to work. God, the ultimate perfectionist, didn't have to redo anything. The work of creation was done. So what lesson to take? As I read other passages, it seems clear that rest is an important part of work. I'm still thinking through any other applications
The first mention of work in the Bible is that God finished the work of creation and rested. I think it's interesting that the all-powerful took a breather. He didn't have to, so why rest? Some have said as an example to us. Mark 2:27 says that the Sabbath was made for humanity, so resting as an example is certainly a possibility. God could have rested in celebration for his "good" and "very good" creation. I think, more than anything, God resting indicates a finiteness to work. God, the ultimate perfectionist, didn't have to redo anything. The work of creation was done. So what lesson to take? As I read other passages, it seems clear that rest is an important part of work. I'm still thinking through any other applications
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