Don't Forget to Rest

Students and young professionals often face a lot of pressure to work extremely long hours to gain a higher grade or job advancement. Work has always been a part of God's plan for his creation (see Gen. 1-2 prior to the fall into sin).  When sin enters the picture, this work becomes much harder and, at times, futile. While it is harder and more frustrating, it is still part of the way we love God and serve others. So, by all means, keep working hard.

However, we must not forget that the Lord also instituted a schedule for humanity which included a day of rest. God created in six days and rested on the seventh.  This was not because he needed six days to work (he is all-powerful and could have done it in no time). He did this as a pattern for us (see Ex. 20 regarding the Sabbath).

When we forget this, we are really trying to be God. We think that we ought to be able to see all our sovereign will done.  We are concerned that we cannot trust God with our future so we listen to the voices around us telling us "just a few more hours of work will ensure success." But what is the measure and cost of such success? It takes a physical and spiritual toll. The sad thing is that many feel that this type of sin (that is of not resting) is actually a sign of maturity. "Workaholism" as John Scott Redd writes, "can be a deeply besetting sin, but I suspect that many perceive it as a sort of honorable sin" (Tabletalk, Feb. 2015, pg. 17). After all, it looks better than laziness.

That brings me to a Psalm that I think many college and young professionals would do well to remind themselves of.

Psalm 127:1-2 
Unless the Lord builds the house,    those who build it labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city,    the watchman stays awake in vain.  

It is in vain that you rise up early    and go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil;    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Two things I'd point out in this Psalm. First, we have a responsibility to work hard. There are "those who build it" and a watchman who "stays awake." However, that is not the emphasis of this passage. The emphasis is that it is not ultimately our work that gets the job done. The Lord, who is sovereign over all, is the one we are dependent on. Therefore, the second point is that it is "in vain" if we think that rising early and going to bed late and being anxious will accomplish all that we intend. If we think we can do things by our own strength, apart from God, we will manifest it in workaholism, and we will find that it is in vain. Sure it might get us an "A", but it is vain in the end because it did not accomplish what work is designed for, namely glorifying God.

We must work as the Lord commanded and then rest as he commands, and both are a sign of our dependence on him. At least they should be. It is possible to work in a way that is not submitted to his sovereign will (you can see this attitude when your plans fail and your respond with sinful anger). It is also possible to "rest" in ways that are not really "rest." Things like vegging out, wasting too much time on social media and entertainment. Rest, instead, ought to be focused on trusting the Lord who always gets all his to-do list done even when you do not get all of yours done. Rest is setting aside time to worship with other believers even when you have a pressing assignment.

Don't get me wrong, there are times when we will work hard with no rest or have to miss worship with God's people. But that must be a rare exception otherwise we are disobeying God and missing out on the gift he gives. "He gives to his beloved sleep." Why? They are focused on him and know that since he never sleeps they can.