Stewardship Of LeisureSample

Leisure As Rest 

There are several interesting words used to bring out the idea of leisure in the Bible.

The first mention of leisure is as rest found in Genesis 2:2: “God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” The Hebrew verb translated as "rested" in Genesis 2:2 is "shabath". The verb "shabath" really means "to cease doing something"! It means: "to come to an end, to terminate, to conclude" Resting is a consequence of this cessation.

God crowned his six days of work with a day of rest. While creating humanity was the climax of God's creative work, resting on the seventh day was the climax of God's creative week. 

Why does God rest? God created the world by just His word alone, as we see in Genesis 1. This makes it clear that God is not tired. He doesn’t need to rest. But he chooses to limit his creation in time as well as in space. 

God gives time a limit within the world as we know it. As long as time is running, God blesses six days for work and one for rest. This is a limit that God himself observes, and it later becomes his command to people, as well in the Ten Commandments. Ex. 20:8-11).

God rested after he finished his work and we should too. This is God’s model: our rest follows our work. God ordained a rhythm in life of repeating cycles of work and rest. Leisure is then the rest taken after a cessation of work 

Many people are workaholics because they tend to get their identity from their work. But we must be careful not to allow work to define us. Our identity must come from who we are – a child of the living God. 

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 (RSV) "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

Notice that twice in that passage is the word rest. One rest is given, the other is found. The rest that is given is the rest that Christ offers us in salvation, to cease from our works and trust Him for our salvation. Do you remember when you came to Christ? 

The rest that is found is when you take His yoke upon you and find the rest that He offers. A yoke is also a symbol of servitude, of controlled labor and activity. It means the end of self-service. To be yoked means the end of running your own life and seeking your own way and following the pattern of resting from our labors. Have you taken your rest?

God demonstrated the principle of leisure in His resting, and being created in His image, we are to imitate Him in work and rest.

Quote: Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength... It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less. - Charles Spurgeon

Prayer: Lord help me to strike the right balance between work and rest. Help me to find my true rest in You. Amen