If you haven’t read last week’s blog you may want to go back and review. Here’s the condensed version. The average 21st century human being is caught in an endless cycle that is, to say the least, destructive.
What I call the Sabbath-less Cycle looks something like this. Everybody is busy. But uninterrupted busyness causes most people to feel constantly hurried. Being “in a hurry” all the time is a very short step from being “borderline angry” all the time. Inevitably, the end result is a pervasive feeling of emptiness. Most people try to fill the emptiness with more busyness and the cycle continues.
The biblical prescription for breaking the cycle is designating one day of the week for rest. The Bible refers to it as the “Sabbath day.” (By the way, the word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew root word that means “repose” or “rest.”)
Sounds simple, but just because something is simple doesn’t mean it’s easy.
So, how do we get at it? In this 24/7 world, how do we actually observe Sabbath? Is it realistic to even try? I would argue that it is not only realistic, it is critical…as in “a matter of life or death” critical.
A side note before we get to the practical part. If you were diagnosed with a very serious disease, say cancer, and the doctor prescribed a rigorous regiment of treatment combined with a strict diet and exercise program, what would you do? Well, chances are you would say, “Okay, you just tell me what I need to do to beat this thing and I’ll do it!” Even if you weren’t that proactive, I doubt you would say, “Well, even though this is very serious and my health is at stake, I’m just too busy to do what you’re telling me I need to do.” (You might be looking for a new doctor if you did.)
I guess we might begin, then, with a question. Do you and I (the average person) even realize just how serious this disease is? I’m convinced that if we do not start observing Sabbath our physical, emotional, and spiritual well being is in jeopardy! I’m talking complete systematic break down. I’m also convinced that intuitively we know it is true. So let’s do something about it.
First, we need to change our way of thinking. Psychologists tell us that people change through two primary means; altering the way we behave and altering the way we think. (They use the term “cognitive behavioral therapy” because it addresses the “cognitive” part, the way we think, and the behavioral part, what we do.) You may have heard someone on a diet say, “To lose weight I had to change the way I think about food.”
When it comes to Sabbath, people in our society desperately need to change the way we think!
Most of us are products of families that had a very strong work ethic. Rightly so, our parents and grandparents honored work as a good thing, the “right” thing to do. However, in our zeal to honor the ethic of work we have sometimes been guilty of putting it on a pedestal it was never intended by our creator to occupy. The result is that the value of “rest” has been sacrificed on the altar of “work.”
By the way, we also project our parent’s work ethic onto our heavenly Father. That’s why “church people” are some of the most faithful Sabbath breakers around. Church becomes just another way to work!
I suggest that we begin with the intentional practice of reprogramming our minds about rest. Keep telling yourself that rest is a good thing, that rest is a gift from God to be received and honored. Remind yourself that rest is sacred, so sacred that it gets its own designated day! Rest is the right thing to do!
Carl Hayes, a psychologist, makes this observation. “One very important aspect of mental health and well-being is simply allowing the mind time to do nothing. It is in this process of not being busy that one is free to contemplate, meditate, recharge and generally appreciate the world around them… Idleness is often frowned upon in modern society, yet it is an important part of human mental health. It allows people to gather thoughts, to gain perspective, and to relieve stress. A certain amount of being idle is essential to a happy, fulfilled life.” http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/health_benefits_of_rest
Second, obviously we must change our behavior. Sometimes we have to behave our way into feeling differently.
From time to time I try to get away for a few days to do nothing but rest and recharge. One of the best ways for me to do that is to go into the mountains, set up a tent and then force myself to sit down. At first I can hardly sit still. I keep thinking of things I need to do; build a fire, brush the dog, adjust the tent ropes, anything! But the longer I sit still the stiller my soul becomes. Slowly I behave my way into feeling differently.
I would argue that Sabbath is all about behaving our way into feeling differently.
I know, I know. I’ve heard (and said) all the objections. You don’t know what my schedule is like right now! There is just no way that I can sit down and do nothing! I have small children, I have teenagers, I have grandchildren, I have aging parents, I have a demanding job! I hear you and I share your angst. That doesn’t change the fact that you and I must discipline ourselves to begin behaving our way into feeling differently.
Here a few behavioral changes I would suggest.
1. Choose a day of rest and advertise it. Let everyone know which day of the
week is your Sabbath day. And for faithful, busy, overcommitted church people it may not be Sunday. If your dominant activity on Sunday is not rest, then Sunday is not your Sabbath!
So choose a day. Be specific. Nail it down. Tell your family and friends. Let the world know. Post in on your face book page. And then respectfully say don’t call me, don’t text me, don’t email me, don’t drop by, don’t invite me to functions on my Sabbath.
By the way, my Sabbath is Monday.
If you currently have commitments on every day of the week, choose your day of rest anyway. Then systematically, one at a time, start eliminating commitments in order of priority, beginning with the least important, until you have freed up enough time to observe Sabbath. (Go back and re-read that paragraph.)
2. Rest on your day of rest. We need to be careful not to make the same mistake
some 1st century devout Jews made and become legalistic about Sabbath observance. It is possible to throw out the baby with the bath water, I know. But we must be diligent about protecting Sabbath for the purpose of rest.
Any activity that does not create a sense of restfulness in the depths of your being is not a Sabbath activity.
Working in the flower garden does not create a sense of restfulness in the depths of my being. Therefore it is not a Sabbath activity for me. Oddly enough, working in the flower garden does create a sense of restfulness in the depths of my wife’s being. Therefore it is a Sabbath activity for her.
Sleeping creates a sense of restfulness in the depths of my being. Therefore it is a Sabbath activity for me.
3. Start today because there will always be a reason to start tomorrow and tomorrow never gets here.
I think Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Matthew 11:28-29 resonates deeply in our souls. Please hear these words as, I think, Jesus intended them to be heard; his message of rest for weary people. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace."
(The Message p.1766)
Great post. Thanks!
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