July 2022
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. - Exodus 20:8-11
When was the last time that you took a full day off from work? No emails. No texts. No emergency meetings. No homework. No practice. No quick stop by the work site. No phone calls. No quick repair job. No grading papers…
How did you feel?
Rest is important. How do I know this? For one, God included rest from work as part of God’s “Top Ten List” of essential guidelines for our lives! Two, I know this on a more visceral level.
On May 2nd, 2022, I hit a wall. I was exhausted, tired, sad, angry, and numb. I felt weak, lazy, and like a failure. All of my life, I have trained myself to "just work harder" if things get difficult, and – after two years of a global tragedy – I just couldn’t. There was nothing more in the tank.
I am feeling a lot better, and yet this crash has me looking at this idea of SABBATH in a different way. It isn’t that we aren’t allowed to work, but rather, we are commanded to rest. Can busy-ness become an idol in our lives? Do we brag-complain about how hard we are working? How many days in a row we have worked? How little sleep we have gotten? Are we boasting about breaking a commandment? And does our society, our employer, our own mind ENCOURAGE & REWARD us for breaking this commandment?
What if we took Sabbath seriously? What if we viewed this commandment as equal to not committing acts of violence, stealing, or cheating on a spouse? Sabbath affirms that even God rests and reminds us that we are not greater than God! If the Almighty Creator of the universe needs to take a day off, how much more so do the rest of us?
In my short experiment with Sabbath, I’ve found myself better focused when I’m at work, more attentive to important relationships in my life, and feeling more joyful. I am taking Mondays & Tuesdays off of work (barring pastoral emergencies) to allow me to be a better pastor for a longer a period of time. I now see that it will also encourage me to be a more balanced husband, son, brother, and friend.
How do you understand and practice SABBATH?
I’d love to hear your experiences and the barriers that exist for you in finding rest. How can we be encouragers and enablers of restoration? --Shabbat Shalom, Pastor Jim
