2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2 – 3, New International Version)
14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:14 – 15, New International Version)
Theme: The Wisdom of Discipline
Title: Discipline and Downtime
Reflection:
New appliances and automobiles are typically sold with a manufacturer’s warranty. To preserve the warranty, there are prescribed operating and maintenance instructions. Especially if the items are expensive, people tend to pay attention to the manufacturer’s instructions. No one willingly tries to invalidate the manufacturer’s warranty by disobeying the instructions. Do we pay attention to our manufacturer’s instructions for us?
Our Scripture passage from Genesis points out that God established the Sabbath. “Shabbat” literally means “to cease” or “to rest” in Hebrew. The Scripture passage from Deuteronomy makes the clear link between the Sabbath and rest. The Sabbath is the topic of many theological debates. However, our focus here is limited to God’s prescription for rest.
So much of our identity is associated with all the things we do. We are a society always on the move. I will admit that rest for me was linked to laziness, but Scripture passages such as the two above, and the story of Martha complaining about Mary leaving Martha to do work by herself have taught me otherwise.
Conclusion:
Since God is our creator, the discipline of resting should be high on our priority list because God prescribes rest. What are we so busy doing that is preventing us from resting our bodies, minds, and souls? Where does rest as God prescribes it rank on your priority list? Does your ranking align with God’s prescription? I would love to hear from you.
Contributor: Bridget Jeffries