Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World

by A.J. Swoboda

Doing some homework revealed that the previous owners had flipped the house for great profit.11 You do not flip something you plan on living in. And yet, truth be told, for generations humanity has been flipping creation. Real work has been postponed. Decade after decade, for this or that excuse, we have abdicated real responsibility and real care for the integrity of the earth, leaving our children and grandchildren with the tasks that we have put off. In trading stewardship and husbandry of the land for quick profit, we have come to a crossroads. The consequences of our irresponsibility are upon us. Things are starting to fall apart. How could we have done this? Could it be that we have assumed we would never have to live in that place again, that we could just move on to another space? If the people who flipped our house had been forced to live on the property for the next three decades, they would have made different choices in caring for it. We might think of it like this: Because of sin, humanity has increasingly exhibited a short-term, utilitarian relationship with the land, the same way that many of us treat a hotel room. We stay for a short time, make a mess, pack up, and go somewhere else, all the while expecting someone else to clean up after us.