This week I read an article called Why You Should Not Celebrate a Sabbath. It was an excellent article challenging readers TO set aside regular times of Sabbath rest for one’s self because we need it.
While I couldn’t agree more, she never stated a single reason NOT to have a Sabbath rest as suggested by her title. Seeing that December is often the busiest month of the year and my creative juices were flowing, I thought it’d be fun to share some reasons for why you WOULDN’T want to take a Sabbath rest. So here it goes. Enjoy!
10 Reasons NOT to Take a Sabbath Rest
- You like being busy all the time and find it invigorating.
- You think high blood pressure is the latest fad, and you want to be a part of it.
- You are not overweight, do not battle depression, cancer, anxiety disorder, or the like (all conditions that are at least partially due to high stress and no rest).
- Burnout doesn’t bother you. When you do burnout, you will just go on to something else.
- You cannot even think of your world revolving without your input or involvement.
- You consider your work, family, or busy-ness more valuable than God or yourself (can we say “god” with a lower case “g”…).
- You don’t like taking naps, reading books, watching TV, playing games with your family, or spending time with friends.
- You would be overwhelmed by your to-do list if you stopped “doing” all the time.
- You think your creative juices never stop and never need time to recharge.
- You are not a Christian, and therefore do not think that the fourth commandment, or any commandment for that matter, applies to you.
All humor aside, I hope you will find some time this week to take a Sabbath rest. God commanded it for good reason–we need it and others do too! Oh, and for the record, Jesus liked to point out that the Sabbath was intended as a day for us to rest from OUR work and OUR goals, and focus on HIM and OTHERS. So, don’t just think a Sabbath rest is JUST lying on the couch watching TV or reading a good book (although that has its place, and I often try to do at least one of those sometime during my Sabbath rest). A Sabbath rest is also extending that hand outward and upward, an act that will renew not only the mind and body, but the heart. Only then can we truly be at rest.