Scaling Leadership with Biblical WisdomSample

Rest 

“Wake up before everybody else and work into the night. Hustle.” — Gary Vaynerchuk 

Hustle seems to be the buzz word around entrepreneurs and business leaders. Whatever you’re facing and no matter what’s happening, you need to hustle faster than your competition. Outwork everyone else and do whatever it takes. Bring all of that and more! This has become the golden rule of sorts if you want to be successful in business. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are many times and seasons we’ll walk through where hustle is the necessary ingredient. Generally speaking, work ethic is extremely important, and often a missing part in a larger percentage in future generations. As a young entrepreneur, hustle was a massive part of my strategy, and I can see how it paid off. I served in ministry and led teams where hustle and pure effort was the key factor that God used to bring significant Kingdom impact. 

However, a danger I’ve not only seen but encountered is when hustle is unfettered and absent of rest. I’ve hit the wall many times in the last few decades because I didn’t have a healthy respect and view of rest. It’s worth mentioning that I ran headfirst into several walls that nearly took me out of my calling and out of God's best for my life. I can look back now and clearly see this was due to a lack of holistic rest. 

Scaling leadership is highly dependent on a healthy and Godly view of rest. As leaders, it’s important to realize we’re not machines and we shouldn’t act like we are. A great place to start is to realize that rest is not weakness. I’ve met so many leaders, young and old, who seem to wear a proverbial badge of honor because of their lack of sleep. We need to purge this from our thinking for it’s absurd. A lack of sleep and working on fumes is not honorable. (A Bible Plan that helps unpack the reality that sleep is a spiritual activity is called Lifehacks: Practical Tips For Godly Habits'. I highly recommend this powerful Plan.)

Did you realize that sleep has become one of the most popular Google searches? When it comes to sleep, the internet nearly explodes due to the searches and web research. If you have not searched for sleep or sleep assistance you’re in the minority. If you turn to Google for sleep assistance, you’ll stumble upon countless scientific research studies that point to the dangers of sleep deprivation. Some consequences are as extreme as heart disease, depression, memory loss, and death. Hustle without proper rest and recharging will lead to some major side effects that include but are not limited to increased illness, less productivity, lack of focus, and emotional instability. 

Scaling our leadership requires work ethic, hustle, and pure grit! But please realize rest is important. Jesus shared with his disciples and the Pharisees that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Our Creator gave us the ability to produce, build, and work, but He also gave us the gift of rest in the Sabbath. 

Let’s go into today’s Scripture reading asking God to search our hearts. Maybe we have a distorted view of rest, a misguided need to perform, or a feeling we need to earn our approval from God that leads us to a lack of rest. 

God, search my heart and speak to me through your Word. Reveal to me where I’m not fully embracing the gift of rest.