AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST
I was blessed with wonderful parents, and one of the many valuable lessons that they taught me was to take pride in my work. I can assure you that this wasn’t a light task on their part! Oftentimes, I’m sure my dad came home to find that the yardwork he had entrusted to me had been completed in a somewhat half-hearted fashion. While it probably would have been easier for him to clean up my sloppy efforts by himself, he understood the importance of teaching me how to do a job thoroughly and well. As a result, I developed a sense of initiative and ownership that impelled me to take on projects myself and strive to complete them to a respectable standard.
While it is undeniable that a good work ethic is crucial, I wish now to turn our attention to the other end of the fulcrum and focus on an ethic of rest. The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle described the concept of virtue as a medium between two opposing vices. For example, a courageous person is a “happy medium” between that of a rash and foolish daredevil on the one hand, and a fearful coward on the either. To apply this example to the case of a work, a person with a healthy work ethic constitutes a happy medium between people who, on the one extreme, could be categorized as “lazy coach potatoes” and those who, on the other extreme, could be called “workaholics.” It is crucial that we strike the proper balance not only for the sake of our mental and physical health, but to our spiritual health.
Twentieth century German philosopher Josef Pieper issued an essay entitled Leisure: The Basis of Culture in which he defends leisure as a critical means for the rightly ordered worship of God. If our minds and bodies are perpetually busied with the cares of our livelihood, it is frankly impossible for us to offer fitting worship to God. In Chapter 5 of Exodus, God commanded Pharaoh as to “let my people go, that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness.” In his hardheartedness, Pharaoh mocked the Israelites for their desire to worship God, accusing them of laziness.
Although the enslavement of Israel in Egypt occurred nearly four millennia ago, we face many of the same struggles today, albeit in different modalities. Sunday, though once regarded by much of Western Civilization as a day set apart for the Sabbath, is now on a slippery slope to becoming a day just like every other. Many high school teams hold mandatory practices and games on Sundays, and many adults spend their Sundays catching up on professional endeavors. Furthermore, I know from personal experience that such things home projects and yardwork can completely consume the Sabbath! When this happens, our relationship with God is no longer a priority, but something to be “checked off the list” whenever time permits.
While good work ethic is a hallmark of virtue, an improperly balanced approach to labor can lead to many vices. If we have exhausted our minds with work, we leave no room for the proper contemplation of God. This inevitably leaves a void, and we seek to fill this void with all kinds of cheap substitutes. While there are the obvious pitfalls of chemical dependency, anger, extra-marital affairs, gambling, or impulse purchases, I’d say that, in my own experience, one of the biggest obstacles to leisure and contemplation is my iPhone! It’s hard for me to hear the voice of God when I’m constantly bombarding it with the latest vexing news, checking bank statements, or engaging in self-comparison with friends or colleagues whose posts I read on social media. In short, I become a far shallower person when I allow these electronic stimuli to become a substitute for the contemplation of God.
Let us not turn to these cheap substitutes. Let us not spin our wheels or succumb to futility, but rather, let us turn to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who himself has said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
~Samuel Backman, Director of Sacred Music