Colossians 3:22-4:1, Matthew 11:28-30
5. Work and Rest
Human work – as assigned by God in the beginning:
-To manage the earth; to take care of God’s creation. Humans are earth’s caretakers.
-To fill the earth.
We are caretakers of the earth and of humanity – our role given us by God. This is our work, which we do for our heavenly Master and which we do wholeheartedly.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. Colossians 3:23
Work was cursed in the fall and became hard work.
Adam went from gardener to farmer, but from fulfilment to frustration.
But the command to manage did not change. We are still meant to be – expected to be – the caretakers and to do our job wholeheartedly and well, under God’s supervision.
Another couple of things set up at the beginning.
1. God established the pattern of 6 days on and 1 day off.
He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working. Genesis 2:3
Did God do no work on the 7th day? His activity changed. He rested from creating but he didn’t do nothing. He began sustaining his creation.
2. God gave us day and night to ensure that we don’t work all the time, but of course we can get around that, and we do, to our detriment.
Abuse of work takes two forms: Idleness and Overwork
Overwork
At work “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” applies. Working too many hours a week destroys a person’s ability to function well. Fatigue takes its toll. Work takes over one’s life. Relationships suffer.
Work without rest is one of the major sins of any age. What is going on today is no exception.
Work is good and necessary; rest is good and necessary.
We need both – in balance. ‘Life balance’ in current terminology. Economic factors can make it hard to get a good balance, especially when hourly rates are low or hours are not family-friendly. I’ve realised that much that is written about life-balance is aimed at people who have a degree of control in their lives. Not everyone has that. I think that’s why God insisted that the whole nation have the same day off each week. It’s so that everyone gets a chance to recreate – individually and together. The effect of disregarding this instruction is evident all around us.
“God instituted the idea of Sabbath rest for the benefit of his people and it is as important for us as it was for the people of Israel and for the people in Jesus day. Remember it’s a justice issue; the ability to rest shouldn’t be a luxury item for the wealthy in our society. Yet there is increasing pressure put on people to work longer and longer hours to make ends meet. The poor have more than one job because of low wages or poor conditions. We celebrate the institution of the forty hour week with Labour Day. It was designed to be a sign of a just and caring society that did not exploit and wear its workers out. That needs to be protected; it impacts on minimum wages, living wages and working conditions.” -Howard Carter (alt.)
Employers concerned for their bottom line (financial result) need to take good care of their best asset: their people. Treat your people well and your bottom line will tend to look after itself. Let’s face it, the most successful businesses are those who have been able to make the most of the good luck that has come their way.
Idleness
Working insufficient time is also destructive. Not having to work and having no work destroys one’s perspective in different ways.
A person who has plenty of money without having to work for it is likely to become self-centred and self-indulgent, develop a sense of entitlement and to care less for others. The more the money, the greater the estimate of self-worth.
A person who has no work is prone to depression and a feeling of failure. The longer the fruitless job search has been, the lower will be their estimate of self-worth.
Those who have little or no work – and this includes retired people – have to take steps themselves to deploy themselves in useful ways, always maintaining that balance between work and rest. Notice I say work and rest, not activity and inactivity, because ..
Rest is more than the absence of work
The Lord’s rest is trust and reliance on him in the midst of it all.
God made the 7th day his. 6 days for us; 1 day for God. Jesus said all days are for God. God blesses our work; God blesses our rest. God is honoured in our work and in our rest. Our life has its seasons, and its daily and weekly rhythms, and these are God’s provision for our good.
Is your life overly-busy? Too full? You need to get control and fit in some God-rest – some Sabbath. “The point of Sabbath is to set aside time to realise that there are more important things in life than work and making a living. It actually takes time to do that. Sunday worship is part of that process of reflection. It also says that a community of faith is important. The Sabbath was set up prophetically in response to slavery and it is easy for us to find ourselves enslaved to the grind of consumerism and capitalism and forget that there is something more significant: someone more significant. Because there are so many different things competing for our time we actually need to learn the discipline of resting.
“In his book ‘The Good and Beautiful God’ James Bryan Smith says that the number one enemy of Christian Spiritual Formation is exhaustion. The number one spiritual discipline in his book is ‘get some more rest get more sleep’. With electricity we’ve pushed back the hours of darkness, with electronic media we’ve found ways to relax where our minds are actually stimulated rather than quietened and rested. Instead of going to bed we may veg in front of the TV or more commonly these days our own personal devices. There is more demand for productivity and efficiency and Smith says we are over-extended physically, emotionally and financially. We need to make Sabbath rest more a part of our lives”. -Howard Carter (alt.)
“Are you ‘trapped’ in the whirlwind of life and unable to address the issues that are pressing in on you? If you don’t make time to pull aside and seek new insights, greater wisdom or life skills then how is it possible for anything to change?” -Wisdom for Life
“Saying ‘no’ to the urgent gives us time to focus on the important. Always saying ‘yes’ to the urgent leaves us powerless to get in the driver’s seat of our life, business or ministry.” -Wisdom for Life
Is your life empty? Do you have time to kill?
Follow Jesus – get his purpose; let him assign you work. You can recognise Jesus’ work by this:
The work Jesus assigns will benefit others and will make a difference.
And don’t expect it to be complicated, difficult or spectacular. God’s work is accomplished by a compound of simple actions. It doesn’t matter how grand a scheme you have to work on or how insignificant it may seem, if God has called you to do it do it with all your heart. Mother Teresa said, “do small things with great love.”
Do what you’ve got to do. Put your whole heart into it and balance the work with rest so that you can sustain your life.
“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.” Matthew 11:28,29
This hymn, by Lizette W. Reese (1856-1935), is one I remember from my childhood. I think it sums up in simple terms a lot of what I’ve just said.
Glad that I live am I;
That the sky is blue;
Glad for the country lanes,
And the fall of dew.
After the sun, the rain,
After the rain the sun;
This is the way of life,
Till the work be done.
All that we need to do,
Be we low or high,
Is to see that we grow,
Nearer to God on high.
The School Hymn Book of the Methodist Church #262