faith@work. R.I.P: resting in peace doing more and enjoying it less

Milford Baptist Church, 24 November 2002

It's 6am on Wednesday morning and the alarm clock is shrieking wildly. You stumble out of bed and into the shower. 6.30 you've read the Word for Today, you're waking your spouse and kids. 6.45 and the lunches are made, breakfast is on the table. 7.00 o'clock and you're out the door. 7.30 you're stuck in Auckland traffic. 7.45 you're still stuck in traffic. 8.00 you're at work and there's already three messages for you. 10.30 and you're hitting top gear. One o'clock, lunchtime, and it's a staff meeting: you miss the gym again. The afternoon races by. 6pm and you're scrambling out of the office. 6.20 you pick up the kids from music practice. 6.40 you're home. Then it's dinner, the dishes, homework with the kids, and then out the door to a meeting at the church. 9.45 you're back home. You read the mail. Chat with your wife. Return a call. Say a prayer. Crawl into bed.

The pace of life is dramatically faster now than it was a generation ago. A recent study in the United States discovered that between 1977 and 1997 the average working week increased from 43.6 hours a week to 47 hours a week. The study concluded, "workers are more frazzled, insecure, and torn between work and family than they were in 1977."  And it's not just people in paid unemployment. This week I was chatting with someone who is retired, and he said that the other day he and his wife were pleasantly surprised to discover that they had one clear day not congested with commitments.

For most of us, the treadmill of life has sped up. We're doing more, and enjoying it less. Ever feel like the treadmill of your life is going too fast? I do. I get tired and sick. I get cranky and anxious. I start to feel dry and weary. I 'm running, but there's no joy, no passion. My work suffers. My friends suffer. My faith suffers. Brian Carroll says that many Christians today are practical atheists, not because of their philosophy but because of their busyness. Their lifestyle exhibits little faith, hope, or love.

There's an old story told about a traveller making a long trek many years ago in the deep jungles of Africa. He had employed some jungle tribesmen to carry all his gear. The first day they marched rapidly and covered lots of ground. The traveller had high hopes of a speedy journey. But the next morning he discovers that the tribesmen refuse to move. They just sit around. "What's the matter?" They reply, "We went too fast the first day, and we're waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies." Sometimes we need to do that. We've been thinking about work over these last six weeks. And the Bible tells us that work is good, but if we are to do the work God's given us to do, at times we need to slow down, jump off the treadmill, and let our souls catch up with our bodies.

remember the sabbath

Interestingly, the Bible has a lot to say about rest, just as it has a lot to say about work. Right at the beginning we see that God himself takes a break. After his work of creating the universe, he rests: "On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation" (Gen 2:2-3).

Then a little later he commands the people of Israel to copy his example: "8 Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any kind of work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; then he rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy" (Ex 20:8-11).

For some of us the idea of forcing everyone to take a day off can curdle the spirit. But this command is not so much a command as a kindness. Like all the other commandments, it was given to the people of Israel - a nation of freed slaves - to keep them free. Let's take a closer look. What was it designed to achieve?

First, the Sabbath was intended to be a time of rest (vv 9-10).

Why do you think farmers used to let fields lie dormant for a season? The rest rejuvenated the field, enriching it for future harvests. In the same way the Israelites needed dormant times, quiet spaces in their lives if they were to work and live with passion. So do we. The problem today is that we often mistake rest for leisure. We can programme our free time so heavily with leisure activities that we never really rest. Have you ever come back from holiday feeling like you need another holiday to recover? To observe a Sabbath means to press "pause" not "play."

The Sabbath was also intended to be a time of reflection (v 11).

This command was modelled on God's rest after he created the universe. Why do you think God - the all-powerful Creator of the universe - needed to take a break? Was he exhausted? No. He stood back, he took time out, to enjoy and evaluate his work. So for the Israelites the Sabbath was to be a time to enjoy the fruit of their work, and an opportunity to stand back and evaluate their work and life - to glimpse the big picture again. Just like the All Blacks analyse videos of their games to learn - or try to learn - from their performance, a Sabbath is a time to push "rewind," to see what God is doing, to listen to what he is saying, to confess our mistakes and learn from the past.

Thirdly, the Sabbath was to be a time of recommitment (v 10).

For the Israelites, this was a day "dedicated to the Lord." This practice was a sign of their covenant relationship with God. It reminded them that they were to trust and obey God. But we have so much to do! To close your eyes and fold your hands in rest is to put your life into God's hands, to trust his power, not your own. We need to do that from time to time: press "eject" and release lives, our work, our concerns into God's hands.

a strategy

So this practice of observing a Sabbath is the antidote to our busyness epidemic. But on the racing treadmill of a busy world, how do you slow down long enough to have a Sabbath? Here are some suggestions.

change down a gear: lower our expectations

Much of our stress comes from trying to satisfy our thirst for a higher standard of living. Some of us could live on much less with very little pain. Buy a house in a cheaper area. Resist the urge to upgrade. Settle for second-hand furniture. Wear clothes until they are well-worn. Eat out only occasionally. If we were to live on a lower income wouldn't we have more time to rest?

plan pit stops along the route: put them in the calendar

When Lorraine and I travelled around the world in just eighty days we looked at our itinerary and map and deliberately scheduled in time to rest. If we didn't plan it, it wouldn't have happened. And we wouldn't have enjoyed the trip as much. I'm beginning to realise that I need to be more deliberate about scheduling Sabbath rests each day, each week, each year. What about you? Do you plan time for rest, reflection and recommitment? I know one family that declares a phone-free time between 6pm and 8pm every night. They won't answer the phone then. It's a Sabbath time.

pull over when you see a rest stop: make the most of chance moments

Ever been on a really long journey in a car on a stifling hot day, and you happen to come across a delightful rest stop you hadn't expected. You pull over. Pull out the thermos. Lie down on the grass. Drink in the fresh air. It's just what you needed to carry on. Francois Fenelon once wrote: "You must learn ... to make good use of chance moments, when waiting for someone, when going from place to place ... at such times it is easy to lift the heart to God, and thereby gain fresh strength for further duties...If you wait for free, convenient seasons... you run the risk of waiting forever." Make use of chance moments. I know of one family that have a tradition: whenever there's an especially beautiful sunset, the entire family declares a sabbatical, drops whatever they're doing, and gathers at the window to admire a truly Great Artist at work. What do you do to regroup, to draw breath, to regain strength? Have you done it lately?

But perhaps there's one other secret to resting: let go of the steering wheel. The people of Israel were given the Sabbath command when they were travelling in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But that generation of God's people never actually got to their place of rest. Why? They wouldn't trust God, wouldn't take him at his word. Jesus says that we all now have a chance to enter that Promised Land, a place of deep rest. he says in Matthew 11:28-29: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give your rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls." It's only by letting go of the steering wheel - like Jake letting Jesus steer our lives - that we can know real rest.

It's said of one of the famous composers that he had a rebellious son who used to come in late at night after his father and mother had gone to bed. And before going to his own room, he would go to his father's piano and slowly, as well as loudly, play a simple scale, all but the final note. Then leaving the scale uncompleted, he would skulk off to his room. Meanwhile, his father, hearing the scale minus the final note, would writhe in his bed, his mind unable to relax because the scale was not complete. Finally, he would succumb. He'd stumble down the stairs and hit the previously unstruck note. Only then could his mind be at rest. Our lives are incomplete, we can never know real peace, until we succumb and - like Jake - give control of our lives to Jesus.

Study Questions

1. On a scale of one to ten, where one is peacefully resting and ten is don't prick me with a pin or I'll explode, where would you rate yourself?

2. "I feel like the bus in the movie Speed? I'm doing more than 50 miles an hour in a built up area. I feel that if I stop, a whole lot of people and me are going to be blown up. If I keep going, sooner or later a whole lot of people and me are going to get blown up anyway." Can you relate to that?

3. The pace of life is dramatically faster now than it was a generation ago. Why do you think that is?

4. Have you noticed today how architects are now designing "dead spaces" in public buildings? Those quiet, empty areas can bring a building to life. Do you plan spaces like that in your life? Are you as disciplined about managing your free time as you are with your work time?

5. Jesus was a master at pulling over whenever he needed a rest stop. He'd slip away up the mountain or shoot across the lake to escape the crowd. What do you do to recover your breath and let your soul catch up with your body? When did you last do it?

6. Augustine of Hippo once said, "Our souls are restless, O God, until they find their rest in You." How have you experienced that in your life?