Work, Life, and Sabbath: A Personal Reflection

A couple of years ago, my then 16 year old daughter asked me, “Dad, why do you work so much?” She asked this innocently. She had observed how fatigued I was driving home from work and asked this out of a deep concern for her dad. I had taken on multiple new roles and was struggling to juggle all of my responsibilities.
 
My initial response was purely defensive. I said, “To buy you all of the stuff that you ask me to purchase for you.” I quickly apologized but I found that I did not have a real answer. At this point, it would have been easy to say, “I work so much because God wants me too.” Those of us who live out our vocations as pastors, teachers, and religious professionals can easily mask over a compulsion to work by appealing to a sense of calling. But what happens when the work I believe I’m doing for God begins to feel like its eroding the work that God desires to do in me?
 
When I open the Bible, its initial words challenge my assumptions about Christian calling, vocation, and work. Genesis 1:1–2:3 sets the tone and agenda for life as God intends. In sweeping language, Genesis narrates God’s effortless work of creation. God speaks creation into existence over six days. Then God rests. This rest is called sabbath. It establishes the rhythm of creation for those open to Scripture’s revelation.
 
The God who created the universe and all that is in it stitched rest into the fabric of our existence. But this is even better than you think. Go back and ponder Genesis 1:1–2:3 anew. You may notice some patterns. First, verse 2 begins with a description of chaotic beginnings. God does not begin with a clean and polished finished product. God begins with a chaotic mess: formless, empty, dark. But God’s Spirit is there at the beginning. God hovers over the mess, poised and ready to act. This is a powerful reminder for all who seek the God of Scripture. We do not have to appear before God at our best. We only have to open ourselves to God’s work. In Genesis, God may begin with a raw collection of shapeless stuff, but God does not end there. God will transform this chaos into a very good world. This is true of our lives too. With God there is always hope of a beautiful tomorrow.
 
Second, the six days of creation unfold calmly and without drama. God’s work appears almost effortless. There are no hiccups. There are no false starts. Everything goes as God intends. God simply imagines the elements of creation and speaks them into existence. All of us know that creative work of any kind is difficult. It is toilsome. It is tiring. But God makes it look easy in Genesis 1 and God still pauses to rest on the seventh day. God does not keep on creating. God works for six days and then rests. God is powerful enough to make the work of creation seem simple, but still takes sabbath and embeds rest into the contours of creation.
 
Third, the work of creation advances from chaos and darkness to order, beauty, and light; from work to rest. This timing challenges our modern rhythms. We tend to think of a day as moving from day to night. Yet in Genesis the flow is this: “there was evening; there was morning.” Also we often rest so that we can work instead of God’s model of work that culminates in rest. These differences may appear subtle on the surface, but with reflection we find a radical challenge to our lives. Life’s end is not darkness or endless work. It is light and rest. The future is better than the past.
 
Finally, stepping back from the whole of Genesis 1:1–2:3 notice the overarching movement. In 1:2 we encounter a messy chaos. On days 1–6 God orders, shapes and fills the created world. On days 1–5 God remarks that his work on each day was “Good.” So on days 1–5 God moves creation from a mess to one that is good. Then on Day 6  God finishes God’s work by filling the earth with all types of animals and then creates men and women in God’s image. At the end of Day 6, God evaluates the whole of creation as “very good” (1:31). So now creation has moved from a mess to good to very good. But the good news gets better as Scripture announces something even better than “very good.” This something is called Sabbath (2:1–3).
 
Sabbath is a space in which all striving and work ceases. It is where our identity depends not on what we do or have done, but who we actually are–people created in God’s image for relationship with the true Lord of Creation who invites us to rest with and in him.
This is the promise that Jesus offers his followers in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
 
Sometimes we justify our endless work for God by appealing to Jesus’ actions. Since Jesus did good on the sabbath and helped others, so should we. It is easy to cite Jesus’ words in support of this: “The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27–28) or “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm; to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4). In both these contexts, Jesus is being provocative. Jesus did not break sabbath in order to advocate for 24/7 ceaseless activity by his followers. Jesus broke sabbath to prevent religious authorities from thwarting the true meaning of sabbath by suffocating those most desperate for God. If we use Jesus’ example to justify our lack of Sabbath, we are missing the point.
 
I continue to ponder my daughter’s question. If God who effortlessly created this universe through words alone modeled rest on the seventh day, why do I feel the need to work so much? Perhaps I have something to prove. Maybe its to cover up the dull ache on the inside that reminds me of past failings, disappointments or regrets? Is it a deep longing for absolute certainty and security that depends more on my abilities and strengths (or lack thereof) apart from a deep trust in God? Or maybe its simply that I don’t believe I’m enough.
 
This thought brings me back to the opening chapter of Genesis again. God began with a mess, brought it to very goodness, and then added rest on the other side of very goodness. Perhaps Genesis 1:1–2:3 is not merely a story about creation. Instead, maybe its an invitation to true life and rest. Maybe Scripture wants to tell me that God is enough for me and I am enough for God. Maybe then I’ll find the rest and abundance that God has offered us from the beginning. 

What do you think? Will you join me in finding out?

© 2017 Brian D. Russell

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The Gift of the Sabbath

After God forms humanity and pronounces creation “very good” God rests. How many of us rest? Modern life is filled with complex and multiple demands. Yet the Bible begins by asserting that Sabbath rest is the climax of the Creation. Life is not designed to be endless toil. Even the most life affirming activities must cease for Sabbath. God’s work of creation moved the universe from emptiness (1:2) to very goodness (1:31) to Sabbath rest (2:1-3). Sabbath is God’s final gift to the creation.

Sabbath and God
God works. God rests. This establishes a key rhythm for understanding life. Ponder this: our Creator rests. This is a radically different world from the one we find today. Most of us race daily from one activity to another. We are tired. Some of us work longer hours often for less pay than previously. Others are exhausted due to weight of un/underemployment and the financial challenges that come with it.

Yet Genesis 2:1–3 offers us a portrait of abundance. God rests. Moreover God blesses this day of rest and makes it holy (2:3). This means that God has set apart a sacred space and time for rest. Profoundly, God shares this rest with us by extending Sabbath to all creation. Sabbath serves as a principle for establishing justice and good in the world. Unlike other ancient creation stories such as the Babylonian Atrahasis where humans exist merely to serve as slaves for the gods, the LORD demonstrates his ultimate goodness with the gift of Sabbath. Jesus will remind us of this reality in the New Testament: “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath” (Mark 1:27)

Sabbath and Life
Sabbath is an integrating principle for our spiritual, personal, and social lives. It connects us with the world around us. Later in the Old Testament, God’s Sabbath will be the key commandment for linking love for God with love for neighbor. In the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:1–17 and Deut 5:6-21), the command to honor and keep Sabbath is the longest and most detailed of the commands. It serves as the bridge between the commandments focusing on our relationship with God (no other gods, no idols, no dishonoring of God’s name) and the commandments rooted in our relating with others (honoring parents, no stealing, no murder, no adultery, no false witness, no coveting). Sabbath has all creation in view. Humanity stops its work and rests. This rest includes all of one’s family, all of one’s employees or servants, and even all of one’s animals. Sabbath is a community practice. There is no solitary sabbath in the Scripture. God rests and so does his creation.

Sabbath in the Old Testament
In the rest of the Old Testament, the sabbath pattern of six days of work and a seventh day of rest repeats and foreshadows God’s abundant future. In Exodus and Leviticus, the sabbath principle establishes protections for humanity and creation. Slavery is regulated so that slaves are released after six years of service (Exod 21:1-11). Agricultural lands receive a sabbath rest every seventh year (Exod 23:10-11). These regulations point to God’s broader vision for justice in his world. Obviously, slaves were among the most marginalized populations in the ancient world. Most slaves in the ancient Israel became slaves as a means of paying off debts in an economy lacking modern bankruptcy protection. It is profound that the Bible confronted this tragic reality directly by offering real protections for persons forced into slavery. Likewise resting fields involved more than crop rotation. The sabbath rest for the fields served to provide food for the poor and for the animal world. The book of Leviticus includes a bold vision for a once-in-a-generation economic reboot (Lev 25). After seven cycles of seven years, God expected God’s people to celebrate the year of Jubilee. In Jubilee, creditors forgave all debts, sold property returned to its original owners, and slave holders released slaves. Jubilee demonstrated God’s justice and goodness. Thus, Sabbath points to the good life. We may find ourselves is difficult circumstances and trying times, but God’s rest awaits.

Living the Sabbath Today
 Sabbath is a radical concept. We live in a 24/7 world. Sabbath challenges the busy-ness of life. What if the most profound act you could do is to be fully present and do nothing? Rest is not a means to some end; rest is the end. God moves creation from emptiness to very goodness and then rests. God doesn’t rest so that he can work. God works so that he can rest. Rest is the final word. This signals something profound about life. The meaning of life cannot simply be reduced to what we do. Work is valuable. Mission is important. Community is critical. Holiness is necessary. Yet the climax of creation is a time carved out for rest in communion with God. Think about the witness that such a bold and daring time of inaction would offer to a world trapped in endless cycles of busy-ness and the chaos of over-commitment.  Sabbath is a declaration of faith that our present and future does not depend on our actions but on God’s. As we read the Bible together, we will continue to talk about our role in God’s mission. But the challenge of Sabbath is that God rested and so must we. The Jesus who calls us to serve as a missional community also invites us to Sabbath: “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28)

What does it mean that God desires you to rest? How would you need to change in order to embrace a real sabbath as a way of life?

Sabbath as Way of Life: Reading Sabbath Missionally

Too many pastors have accepted a life of “busy-ness” instead of a life of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I teach a course on the Exegesis of Exodus at Asbury Seminary.  As part of the semester, we work through the Sabbath commandment.  At the heart of the Sabbath, is God’s command to inaction.  I am not a sabbatarian in the classic sense of the word, but I am convinced that there is an abiding missiological witness implicit in God’s commandments.  When we as followers of Jesus Christ live out the principles found in Scripture, we reflect inherently to the world something of the heart and character of God.  Biblical ethics are not merely about punishment and sin—they are about witnessing to the world of a better way of life—the life that God created humanity to live.

When it comes to Sabbath, the principle of no work that brings financial gain is crucial.  As our world becomes increasingly global, Western nations are coming into competition with rising economies in which workers routinely work 60-100 hours seven day per week schedules.  I believe that followers of Jesus Christ have the opportunity to witness to the surrounding culture that work is not the final word for humanity—rest is.  A God-given rest has been woven into the very fabric of the universe.

Yet if followers of Christ are to capture this missional moment, Christian leaders need to live radically different than many currently do.  Too many pastors allow themselves to be trapped by a never ending mountain of busyness in which at the end of the day they experience poor health, loneliness, family discord, and burn out.

How can pastors begin to experience the sort of life that God has called humanity to live?  How can pastors begin to create an ethos of health within communities of faith rather than dysfunction?

 1) Pastors must be ruthless in their quest for a balanced life.  We need to quit making excuses for obscenely busy lives.  Each of us is ultimately responsible for the decisions we make in how we choose to conduct our lives.  God has not called us into Christian service so that we can destroy our relationships with our spouses and children, have no time for meaningful relationships with friends, and ironically lose the zeal that we once had to spread the Gospel.

2) Pastors who live balanced lives will prioritize their time around their strengths.  We need to understand ourselves.  It is crucial that we learn to spend the majority of our time doing what we do best.  Christian ministry in the traditional sense puts ridiculous demands on pastors.  Read the job description of the pastor in any denominational handbook and you will be shocked by the many and various tasks that a pastor is supposed to juggle.  Smart pastors focus on their own gifts and learn to delegate the majority of other tasks to persons more capable than themselves.

3) Pastors who live balanced lives teach and promote a gift-based ministry.  The New Testament documents portray the body of Christ as an organism in which each believer plays a crucial role through the deployment of his or her gift for the sake of the mission of the whole.  Christendom has subverted the biblical witness by setting churches up as corporations in which paid professions “do ministry” on behalf of a group of spectators (usually called the “laity”) who provide only the financial resources to fuel the mission of the Church.  Pastors need to have the courage to teach the biblical model of a gift-based culture.   Pastors need to function primarily as equippers rather than laborers.  Here is a test: if the pastor has to be present for a ministry to function, the pastor has not created a gift-based culture within his or her congregation.

4) Pastors who live balanced lives train leaders rather than enable followers.  New Testament communities expect Christ followers to deploy their gifts.  It is simply inconceivable for the biblical writers that a person can profess belief in Jesus Christ and then live unchanged and unproductive lives.  21^st century leaders must focus on training leaders rather than feeding sheep.

What do you think?

© 2014 Brian D. Russell

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