"The Bible says God took six days to create the world and rested on the seventh. Was God tired? Of course not! God doesn’t get tired. So why did God rest on the seventh day? He was modeling an important principal of life." Rick Warren

Pastor, when is the last time you took a day off? You spend most of your week caring for the needs of others. You and your family often come last. You need a day off. We’re not excused from God’s command to take a Sabbath.
 
God has more to say about taking a day off than he does about either murder or adultery. It’s the longest of the 10 commandments. It’s as if he’s saying, “I want you to take this serious; this is not a suggestion. I am commanding you to take a day off every week.” Exodus 20:8-9 says, “Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work.”
  
God is pretty clear. No one is to work. In Mark 2:27, Jesus tells us why God makes this command. “The Sabbath was made to benefit man, and not man to benefit the Sabbath.” God created the Sabbath for our benefit. He did it to prevent burnout. Every seven days you need to get physically, emotionally, and spiritually recharged. Your batteries run down every few days. The Sabbath is the antidote to burnout and the stress-filled world we live in as pastors. 
 
I know what you’re saying: “Rick, I’m a pastor. Sundays are a little busy for me!” It doesn’t matter when your Sabbath is. You just need one day a week.  God doesn’t care when you do it as long as you do it once a week – and you keep it holy. That means you set it apart and spend it differently than the other days of the week. That means you get some rest, refocus spiritually, and spend time with your family

Psalm 127:2 (NLT) says, “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night […], for God gives rest to his loved ones.” God says your body needs rest. In fact, it’s so important that God used himself as an example. The Bible says he took six days to create the world and rested on the seventh. Was God tired? Of course not! God doesn’t get tired. So why did God rest on the seventh day? He was modeling an important principal of life – every seven days you take a day off.
 
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it’s OK for people to have laws that businesses be closed on Sunday. It’s not on religious grounds but on the grounds that the need for periodic rest is built into the fabric of life.
 
The truth is, you can be consumed by your ministry. There are many temptations that pull you toward workaholism as a pastor – more ministry results, guilt, the praise of others, and even a sincere desire to do what God wants. We think we can be more effective in ministry if we don’t take time off. But it actually throws our whole system off kilter. We’re not as effective without rest as with it. 
 
Pastor, by refusing to take a day off each week, you’re saying, “I’m so important that I can’t take a day off. The world would fall apart if I do.” Guess what? You can resign as general manager of the universe. It won’t crumble without you.

It’s a sign of immaturity and insecurity when you won’t rest. How easy was it to get your kids in bed when they were young? They argued and complained when you made them go to bed. Yet any wise parent knows if they don’t get proper sleep, they’re going to have problems the next day.

Pastor, I've got another concern for you if you don’t take a day off – your family. God wants you to plan some special time with your family. They need it, and so do you. For years when my kids were small, I took Mondays off. Monday night was family night in the Warren house. We kicked back and had fun as a family.

That’s so crucial. You don’t teach values to your kids; you model them. You might preach to them every week. They may hear you talk about spiritual things all the time. But if you’re not modeling your faith in front of their eyes, they’ll miss it. The most important lessons in life are caught not taught. Your kids won’t catch those lessons if they don’t see you living them.

Pastor, you need a day off. Not just a vacation every year, and I’m not talking about a sabbatical. I’m talking about a Sabbath: one day off, every week.

Start this week. It may be the most important ministry decision you make.

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Posted Wed, Oct 28 2009 12:25 PM by MTBEditor