In recent years, \u201cSabbath\u201d has entered the popular lexicon. No longer dismissed as the niche habit of observant Jews and New England Puritans, the Sabbath is now a habit that seemingly everyone aspires to. Tired of constant online connectivity and concerned about declining mental and physical well-being, even people who don\u2019t consider themselves religious are revisiting the neglected practice of setting apart one day in seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The benefits, Sabbath\u2019s newest proponents say, are numerous. One author claims<\/a> regular periods of rest will help you accomplish more work. Another suggests<\/a> a secular Sabbath will deliver two important goods lacking in a modern lifestyle: \u201ctime to contemplate and distance from everyday demands.\u201d Others tout the Sabbath\u2019s potential to relieve stress and anxiety<\/a>, slow life\u2019s hectic pace<\/a>, and allow practitioners to enjoy the moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They aren\u2019t wrong. But focus on personal gains misses the Sabbath\u2019s bigger point. The Sabbath is more than self-care. And that\u2019s good news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not surprising that current discussions of the Sabbath often frame its observance as a personal decision\u2014one option for an overscheduled individual looking to reset his or her priorities. We\u2019re used to living as if what we do with our time is entirely up to us, whether that means working overtime or taking a day off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Sabbath isn\u2019t merely a choice. It comes to us among the commandments God gave to his people on Sinai, one of the 10 \u201cwords\u201d that summarize his enduring moral law. \u201cRemember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,\u201d the Lord says (Ex. 20:8<\/a>). The God who created time decrees how we ought to use it: \u201cSix days you shall labor . . . but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work\u201d (vv. 9\u201310).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While viewing the Sabbath as a duty might seem to take the joy out of the day, understanding the Sabbath as God\u2019s gracious command frees us to delight in his ways. \u201cFor this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments,\u201d writes John, \u201cAnd his commandments are not burdensome\u201d (1 John 5:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we humbly submit ourselves to the Lord and stop trying to determine our own use of time (even the time we spend at rest), we acknowledge we\u2019re creatures and he is the Creator. An optional Sabbath makes us lords of our own schedule. A required one reminds us that we aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our work-from-anywhere age, one appeal of the Sabbath is the boundary it erects between work and rest. When 84 percent<\/a> of Americans check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up every morning and 56 percent are on their devices during dinnertime, it\u2019s no wonder we feel desperate to unplug from the daily grind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An optional Sabbath makes us lords of our own schedule. A required one reminds us that we aren\u2019t. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sabbath gives us a day to close our inboxes and our Slack messages, a day to forgo laundry and grocery-store runs, a day to not clock in or log on. Our God rested from his labors on the Sabbath, and he graciously calls us to do so too. As Christopher Watkin explains<\/a>, \u201cGod\u2019s rest [at creation] makes it clear that work is not all there is for God, and we know from Exodus 20<\/a> that he doesn\u2019t want it to be all there is for us either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sabbath unplugs us from our daily work. But simply unplugging is only half the story. On the Sabbath, the Lord frees us from<\/em> work and frees us unto<\/em> worship. We could even say that the Lord releases us from one kind of work so we\u2019re able to do another kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sabbath isn\u2019t primarily about relaxation\u2014a lazy day in a hammock in the shade, perhaps. It\u2019s about drawing close to Christ and finding true rest in him. \u201cCome to me,\u201d Jesus beckons, \u201call who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest\u201d (Matt. 11:28<\/a>). When believers use one whole day each week to remember and delight in the Savior who rescued them from death, their souls will be revived. Our daily work isn\u2019t all there is. Our skills and accomplishments (and sins and failures) aren\u2019t all there is. There is also Christ and our relationship with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A day of worship is better than a day on the couch. When we faithfully participate in corporate worship and spend other parts of the day in prayer and Scripture meditation, we may be tired when the Sabbath comes to a close. But we\u2019ll have met with Jesus. And there we\u2019ll have experienced true rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Years ago, an organization of Jewish thinkers published \u201cThe Sabbath Manifesto<\/a>,\u201d a deliberately secular list of 10 rules designed to create a day for unplugging and resting. Among the rules are \u201cfind silence\u201d and \u201cconnect with loved ones.\u201d The organizers said they wanted to make the rules \u201copen for vast interpretation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on one\u2019s preferences, these rules structure very different types of days. For some, the constantly connected nature of our lives makes a solitary Sabbath with lots of silence seem ideal. For others, a Sabbath is best when it\u2019s social. It\u2019s an opportunity to spend time with favorite people: college friends, family members, pickleball partners. Either way, it\u2019s up to the individual Sabbath observer to determine whom to spend the day with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sabbath isn\u2019t primarily about relaxation. It\u2019s about drawing close to Christ and finding true rest in him. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Christian Sabbath, however, calls us to something greater. The Lord doesn\u2019t leave us to find our own Sabbath friend group (or to avoid other people altogether). Instead, he uses one day a week to remind us that we\u2019re designed for the community of his body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We haven\u2019t chosen the members of our local church, but God has chosen them for us, and he intends for us to spend time together. Each member of his body has gifts and graces that are necessary to the whole body (see 1 Cor. 12<\/a>), and the gathered congregation displays Christ\u2019s \u201cmanifold wisdom\u201d to the created order (Eph. 3:10<\/a>). By using the Sabbath to prioritize times of gathered worship and times of informal fellowship with God\u2019s people, we affirm God\u2019s goodness in uniting us to his church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the week, we make time in our schedule for people who matter to us, but on the Lord\u2019s Day, God makes time in our schedule for the people who matter to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you \u201cremember the Sabbath, to keep it holy\u201d (Ex. 20:8<\/a>), you may find that your anxiety levels decrease and your sense of well-being increases. You may feel more present in the moment and more connected to other people. You may be able to let go of last week\u2019s stresses and embrace the new week\u2019s work with renewed energy. It\u2019s possible\u2014even probable\u2014that at least some of these things will happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But none of them will be the greatest blessing of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to what Isaiah says about the chief result of honoring the sabbath:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. (Isa. 58:13\u201314<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isaiah tells us that if we put aside what we want to do on the Sabbath, give up our personal goals for the day, and submit ourselves to the Lord\u2019s command, then\u2014and only then!\u2014will we \u201ctake delight in the LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out that the fruit of the Sabbath isn\u2019t ultimately about our well-being. It\u2019s about having more of God himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What could be better?<\/p>\n\n\n\nMore than Choice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
More than Relaxation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
More than Me (and Maybe My Friends)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pursue More<\/h3>\n\n\n\n