Sabbath does not need to be Black
More busy = more better?
By Pastor Adam Fox
Sometimes a
TV show stumbles into a correct prediction or point about society or life.
Simpsons has done it a hand full of times. But Seinfeld has too. And it is
correct with George Costanza. Who in my opinion is the best character on the
show.
George tells the diner gang about how he
gets out of work at the New York Yankees. If he is always looking angry and
frustrated and overworked, no one will ask him to do more.
Brilliant.
George and the writers of this show
stumbled into a trend of Americans today, we have to be busy. the busier the
better. If our schedule or inbox for the day is not overloaded with things that
only Dr Strange could do in all his mystical time powers, then we have a
problem.
How did we
get to this point? Why do we think it is needed to overload our work day, and
then off-time as well to catch up and stay ahead. We are doing life wrong and
our souls are suffering.
The temptation of busyness is something
we can all fall into. Society almost has convinced us if we do not let life, or
our jobs, or our social standing, or our volunteer, or whatever swallow us up,
we are weak.
One area that bothers me is the urgent. My
work week is different than most of peoples, and I am okay with that. I come in
on Monday and plan out what I can do when and how best to us each day of the
week to do my job to the best of my abilities. But I must admit, it is filled
with a schedule or game plan for each day.
Planned and ordered, that is until the
urgent pushes its way into my life. While urgent things are not always bad,
just need to be dealt with.
More busy. More needs. More things that need to
be done. Less time. What needs to be cut in order to fit it all? The time off.
Am I complaining? Nope. My work week is
not much different than that of corporate America, or of a home-keeper (And I
LOVE it!!). But the point is consistent through many careers and walks of life,
more is not always smarter or better.
Is taking time off or resting weak or is
it needed? To me it is needed and commanded.
From the first few chapters of Genesis
and consistently through the Law section of the Older Testament, Sabbath
rest is shown and told to do.
God set the example of
resting one day a week and commanded the Israelites to do so in the
Law.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to 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. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your
male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who
is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh
day. Therefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11
And this is not the only time God mentions this, it is a
consistent calling. But why? why is resting your body AND your spirit so
needed?
God created us and knows us. He knows
that while we can grind and push and labor all day every day, we will break
down. We need the rest for our body, but most importantly the spirit and soul
needs a break.
I can grind
everyday all day until I snap. That is not healthy. But my spirit cannot come
close. It needs to stop, and be refilled by the Lord.
I need to stop and come to the Lord.
Spend time in the Bible. Praying to God about my needs and concerns and listen.
Worship Him for who He is. That is what a Sabbath is.
It is not about the lack of work, that
is not the point. It is about stopping your normal activities so that you can
spend time with the God who loves you.
And it is important! Look at what Jesus
says in Matthew 11.
28 Come to Me, all you who
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy
and My burden is light.
God wants us to rest in Him and through
Him. Look at the example of Mary and Martha from Luke 10. Martha was busy
making and doing things while Mary sat in the presence of the Master.
While I am not giving you an excuse to
not do your work, but Mary understood the importance of spending time with
Jesus and being there.
We can learn a lot from these ladies. While work is important and needed
to life, spending time with God is just as if not more.
Taking rest on a regular bases is
needed. It does not mean you are weak, it means you are healthy. Make sure you
find your day, your time away from the tyranny of the urgent and the busy and
Sabbath. Spend time with God – the Lord of the Sabbath and He will give you
rest.
Cheers and Excelsior!
Pastor Adam
