Sabbath | Work and Rest
One cannot fully appreciate the Sabbath rest without understanding the foundation of work. The two concepts are tied to each other, link in their purpose and in their expression. At the foundation of the world, God worked for six days then rested and ceased from His work on the seventh day, having completed everything that needed to be completed. This became the model and intended order for mankind to mirror and reflect the glory of God in our work and in our rest. Then, as God established covenant between Himself and man, the Sabbath became one of the central tenets and functions of obedience to God.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11, ESV)
God designed mankind to work in the same way that God designed mankind to rest and Sabbath. Both are vital to worshipping and glorifying God in the entirety of our lives. The two ditches the Christian faces push them to either be in a perpetual state of sabbath rest, something God did not intend, or a perpetual state of work, something that God equally did not intend. Instead, the one who follows God should find an equal emphasis on rest and work as God commands each to be done in a specific way. In each case, though, they are done as if we are doing them representing and working for the Lord.
As Unto The Lord
For many people, work is viewed as this inconvenience that must be done in order to simply earn a paycheck. Many people hold the perspective that we should merely go to lifeless jobs as simply work until they die when we will finally have rest from our work. The attitude of work and our jobs has declined thinking that we should not have to work. While there may be some issues within specific businesses and some structures of work and leadership, to view work in such a denigrating manner misunderstands the expression of work. Working is not an effect of the fall. Work gave mankind purpose and an expression of the gifts and talents God gave them. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, ESV) When we view work as an inconvenience to what we want to do, we miss the joy that can come from work. For Adam and Eve, caring over creation through working came as a source of joy. It was only after the fall of mankind in Genesis 3 that the toil of labor came about and the work had been frustrated from being separated from the presence of God.
God is fully able to redeem our work and find Himself present in the midst of what we do. This is not to say that we need to change our jobs to be a more redeemed job or that only ministry based jobs can be redeemed (a common misconception). Rather, the work we do should be done to glorify God. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24, ESV) The ability to work, earn an income, and have a job are blessings given by the Lord that give us purpose of expression rather than a life void of all meaning. Thus, in our jobs, our hearts should reflect and display the glory of God as we work. We do our job as if we are doing it for the glory of God, whatever our job may be. Our attitudes doing our job witness to God and the hope He brings in a world that views work as an inconvenience. For the Christian, work is an avenue to be faithful and thankful to the gift of being given a way to express our strength and gifts. Just as God labored for six days, we too labor in that mindset of being a blessing to those around us through our labor.
Work Without Idolatry
Yet, we cannot turn work into an idol. Each of us should strive to maintain the balance of work and home life, labor and rest. Just as God commands mankind to work, the command is equally given to rest as well. Work is a gift given to mankind as a means of expressed the goodness of God through our labor and through our hands. Yet the gift can never become greater than the giver. For some, the idea of an unceasing works marked by long hours with no days off, becomes an idol. We see the continued demands of work and conclude that if we are not constantly touching the demands of our labor, then the project, the job, and everything else will fail. We abandon the command to Sabbath rest and create idols out of ourselves thinking that the Sabbath applies to everyone but us. In reality, though, the work does not rest on our shoulders and there will always be more work to do. In ceasing to Sabbath, we consider ourselves as greater than God, His commands, and His intended order.
There is a profound humility that comes from understanding that whatever organization we may be a part of will survive without us. This mentality slays the idolatry of pride that elevates our own self important to the point that we must live an unbalanced life and wear ourselves to complete exhaustion thinking that everything relies on our ability to work. Jobs, organizations, and even churches have gone on for thousands of years before us and will continue to carry on long after we have died. Our work is not the crux of the work of mankind. That work was done on the cross of Christ and even His work is finished. Work is absolutely important, but it is important in the proper context of how God intended us to work. We work as if we are working for the glory of God through our dedication and rest knowing that God is Lord over all and reigns eternally over all creation. We are honored to serve work and humbled to know that we do not need to take the role of God who upholds all creation in His hands, rather than our own.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
