Someone gave me a book a few years back that was titled "When I relax I feel Guilty". I'm not sure where the line should be between, what I would call a good work ethic and workahalism, should be drawn, but I did learn as a boy that if I'm not working, then I must be wasting time. We're instructed in the Bible to redeem the time; make good use of it; once a moment has passed, we cannot get it back again.
Then over the years, especially teaching the Pentateuch at PLBC, I've come to understand how important sabbaths are. In Moses' day, he taught his followers to take not only weekly sabbaths, but also yearly ones, and even to rest one year out of seven. Then there were the numerous holy Days spread throughout the Jewish year. The Jews really understood the value of rest, for body, soul and spirit.
So to find that balance between working productively and taking sabbaths (which literally means to stop; desist) is my constant battle. I'm on vacation now and my goal is to write a book, but there are numerous household tasks that are calling out to me every day. What do I do?
Yesterday I was having one of those inner battles when Susan told me she was going to take Kristy's kids to Old Fort Langley to look at how the early settlers of BC lived. She said this would be a good time for me to stay home and write. But I thought "I would love to go with the kids to Fort Langley!" and then I thought "Boy, this would be a great quiet time for me to get something done!" What should I do?
I decided to resist the urge to do something "productive" and give myself to my family. I know you're probably thinking, "Duh, that wasn't a difficult decision.", but for me, it caused me to pause and think through my values again. Here's a couple of pictures that will remind me of the wisdom of taking a sabbath.
No comments:
Post a Comment