Rest...or Die.
Harsh title, I know.
Yet not as harsh as the words Jehovah spoke to his people in Exodus 31 (version, The Message):
God spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites, 'Above all, keep my Sabbaths, the sign between me and you, generation after generation, to keep the knowledge alive that I am the God who makes you holy. Keep the Sabbath; it's holy to you. Whoever profanes it will most certainly be put to death. Whoever works on it will be excommunicated from the people. There are six days for work but the seventh day is Sabbath, pure rest, holy to God. Anyone who works on the Sabbath will most certainly be put to death. The Israelites will keep the Sabbath, observe Sabbath-keeping down through the generations, as a standing covenant. It's a fixed sign between me and the Israelites. Yes, because in six days God made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day he stopped and took a long, deep breath.'"
Practice the Sabbath...or perish.
Invest in a day to stop...or suffer isolation.
Now, I'm quite certain the literal components of this passage would fire a passionate debate (which is of no concern to me right now), so I'm going to go figurative. It seems to me here that this is one more place God demonstrates his omniscience. Humanity does not have an off button naturally. We will go until we're sick, dead, or both. Especially in this modern time, when during one tiny breath of time, we can be working, communicated with someone on Facebook, watching the news, eating lunch, Googling, and texting our spouse about picking up dinner. Go. Do. More. Yes. Sacrifice. Strive. An endless string of pressing concerns chokes our lives. Rest...or die. How many of us are dying of business?
Wayne Muller comments on our fatal gluttony for business: "A 'successful' life has become a violent enterprise. We make war on our bodies, pushing them beyond their limits; war on our children, because we cannot find enough time to be with them when they are hurt or afraid, and need our company; war on our spirit, because we are too preoccupied to listen to the quiet voices that seek to nourish and refresh us; war on our communities, because we are fearfully protecting what we have, and do not feel safe enough to be kind and generous; war on earth, because we cannot take time to place our feet on the ground and allow it to feed us, to taste its blessing and gave thanks" (see below) A life lived with no rest, no pause, no stillness is a life of violence: destructive to our souls, dangerous to our loved ones, deadly to our bodies, debilitating to the innocent bystanders of our incessant striving.
So yes, there is no question that God's warnings about Sabbath for his people are harsh. Rest...or die. Stop...or suffer isolation. But it is easy to see how these admonishments are for our own good. Rest...or die, because our physical selves suffer from non-stop going. Stop...or suffer isolation, because our relationships (sometimes even those within the same household) are diminished by our constant output of energy. (Ironic, no? You think in a society that is more connected than ever isolation would not occur?!)
I work a job that demands at least 60 hours a week and 100% of my mind and heart. I have a house that is constantly dirty. I have a marriage that cries for cultivation. I have furry pets who need walking and feeding. Thank God, literally, for His gift of a weekly off button.
When was the last time you pressed yours?
To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. ~Thomas Merton
Wayne Muller's Sabbath book...
