The Value of Sabbath
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
Genesis 2:1-3
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work — you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
The two Scripture references above attend to the concept of sabbath. The genesis of the practice was to rest as the Holy did on the seventh day after the creation. In Deuteronomy, we see the specific development of the practice (not do any work) with an additional edict to remember the benefits of God (freedom from oppression).
Our culture would do well to think about how one truly rests for the purposes of holistic restoration. Many tend to push their bodies to the limits, discounting the value of rest/sleep; this can be heard in the statement, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." This mentality works against the holistic nature of our humanity and can cause great harm. It characterizes arrogance or, at least, a denial of the natural limitation of what it means to be human. With electronics and multimedia compounding the obstacles to rest, one can go through an entire day without silence or pause. I acknowledge the addictive tendencies of handheld devices in my own life, and the use of these devices late into the evening will delay rest because its stimulation makes it hard to go to sleep. Our culture may be losing or may have lost the values of pausing, resting, reflecting — sabbath.
Practicing sabbath (holy pausing) is truly essential to holistic health and holistic professional practice. Practically speaking, without proper rest, we are in danger of hurting ourselves and others. As a daily, not just weekly, routine, sabbath helps us live with more purpose. When we do not practice pausing and reflecting, we tend to live a more instinctual, less intentional, lifestyle making us a slave to daily habits. The practice of sabbath in the Deuteronomy text calls us to remember that the Holy wants to free us to holistic living by 1) helping us remember when Holy freedom has occurred in our lives and 2) reflecting on our need for freedom in our present life. So, how do you practice sabbath or holy pausing in your life?
May we, with God's help, practice the discipline of sabbath — holy pausing!