You Need a Break
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
“‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ ”
When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. (Exodus 31:12-18)
All work and no play doesn’t just make Jack a dull boy, it can make him sick and unproductive. In college, we might brag about how we pulled “all nighters.” But God isn’t so impressed. Instead, he thinks that we should take some time off on a regular basis, one day a week, every week. Even God took a day off after he created the world. Are we better than God?
Besides, we need the time off just for our own health and happiness. Working all the time isn’t good for us and frankly, it ultimately it reduces our productivity. And an hour off here or there doesn’t cut it. For the ancient Israelites, they were expected to take a whole day just to do nothing with it. They didn’t spend their day off mowing the grass, cleaning the garage, or building a shed. Instead, they were required to just do nothing: to goof off, to be lazy, to sleep and eat and play. Not only did the Israelites not get to work, they couldn’t make anyone else work for them: no slaves could work, not even their animals could work. No cooking, either: they weren’t allowed to start a fire; they had to eat whatever they already had at hand. God was serious about the resting thing. And as Jesus would later point out, it was designed, just like any of the laws God made, for our good. So take some time off. The world won’t end because you goofed off one day this week.
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