Aaaaahhhh...... Rest
In the Exodus story we find a set of 10 Laws on what is to separate the Israelites from the other nations. In Exodus 20 YHWH gives the list as a way of saying you were once under an oppressive regime but under my law you will be different.
Inside these 10 commandments is the one to take the Sabbath. The idea of rest was not part of the Ancient Near East world. It was a radical idea. This can easily be seen as a command to worship God, but in essence I think it goes much deeper than that. In the Exodus narrative the Israelites were slaves. Their value was connected to their work and output. How many bricks did you make, how many things did you build. It is easy even in face of oppression, to become a slave to our work. It becomes what defines us and gives us our identity.
For many people, this is an unnoticed problem. They go to work, and are defined by what they do. They refuse to rest or they are not allowed to rest. I live in a generation that is post the economic depression that happened in 2008. However, the consequences are still around. Jobs are no longer secure and people are now doing the jobs that multiple people used to do. I recently spoke to a chartered accountant who was working 16 hour days.
When we work that many hours what does it say about us? How can we give to ourselves in any meaningful way? Yet in the midst of all this work God says rest. Stop. Your identity is not in those places. Your identity is to be found in the moments that make you come alive.
I think we are now slaves to our pay checks, slaves to being needed, and sometimes slaves to the people we serve.
Being busy is good, building is good, but, what if I build a tower to the sky and have lost the ability to communicate with the others around me?
So this week as I am on leave, I will take my sabbath in a new way. I will say who I am is not defined by what I do but by what ignites the divine spark within me.
Inside these 10 commandments is the one to take the Sabbath. The idea of rest was not part of the Ancient Near East world. It was a radical idea. This can easily be seen as a command to worship God, but in essence I think it goes much deeper than that. In the Exodus narrative the Israelites were slaves. Their value was connected to their work and output. How many bricks did you make, how many things did you build. It is easy even in face of oppression, to become a slave to our work. It becomes what defines us and gives us our identity.
For many people, this is an unnoticed problem. They go to work, and are defined by what they do. They refuse to rest or they are not allowed to rest. I live in a generation that is post the economic depression that happened in 2008. However, the consequences are still around. Jobs are no longer secure and people are now doing the jobs that multiple people used to do. I recently spoke to a chartered accountant who was working 16 hour days.
When we work that many hours what does it say about us? How can we give to ourselves in any meaningful way? Yet in the midst of all this work God says rest. Stop. Your identity is not in those places. Your identity is to be found in the moments that make you come alive.
I think we are now slaves to our pay checks, slaves to being needed, and sometimes slaves to the people we serve.
Being busy is good, building is good, but, what if I build a tower to the sky and have lost the ability to communicate with the others around me?
So this week as I am on leave, I will take my sabbath in a new way. I will say who I am is not defined by what I do but by what ignites the divine spark within me.
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