Jason Bourne knows sleep is a powerful weapon. The tragic hero of the Robert Ludlum novels appreciates that his survival may depend upon resources that are available only to the rested. Jason makes a point of sleeping before confronting his enemies, but many of us rush into our battles exhausted.
God calls His people to rest… “Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. In six days I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the sea, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested… (Exodus 20: 8-11, Good News Translation).
God Himself rests, but we soldier on as if rest is a luxury we cannot afford! We become anxious when we have a lot to do and dedicate more hours to work. However, working through the times that we should be resting is not productive. Our thinking becomes cloudy and we make more mistakes. Creativity wilts with overtime at the grindstone.
I learn a lot of things the hard way. I started writing newsletters for European investors in July of 2004. I quit going to the gym. I worked seven days per week the first year. I took one week of vacation in five years. Even then I scheduled meetings with subscribers who lived where I was traveling and replied to work emails from my hotel at night. My boss told me to quit working so hard in 2008. He told me to spend more time with my feet on my desk thinking. I ignored him and kept working hard. My boss hired two new analysts, divided my job among them, and transferred me to an entry level job in February 2009.
I still neglect scheduling real vacations, but have lunch with friends twice a week now and my wife and I have dinner with friends twice a week. I go to the gym three times a week. I do what I want on Saturdays and spend Sunday afternoons in bed. I get more profitable work done now than I ever did when I was working seven days a week.
I did not change my ways until I lost a job of which I was proud. Like I said, I learn a lot of things the hard way. Maybe you need to change your ways. I hope you don’t have to lose your job before you begin to follow the example of God and learn to rest.
www.mtmgeorgia.org published a version of this post previously.
Recent Comments