I find it amazing that people around the world are go, go, go until the point where they drop from exhaustion, are frustrated, aggravated, hostile, angry, or whatever you want to describe their physical and mental condition. There is a reason for the Sabbath and I will get to that in a moment.
I recently watched a show called “The Doctors” where a mother of 3 I think was just physically and mentally stressed. Her and the husband had their kids in music, dance, sports, martial arts as well as other activities. The mother came onto the show to seek advice about getting time for herself. The specialist gave her some advice and I personally think it was the worst advice ever. Get up an hour earlier is what the specialist suggested. My advice is hey take your kids out of some of those activities. Where is it written that a child must do everything under the sun? Where is it written that a child must do something for 3 to 5 hours after school lets out? Where is written that the children run the home?
If you are thinking that your child or children will be mad, so what. You are the parent and they are children, not young adults especially between the ages of 0-16. Your relationship with your children will change every year as it should until they are old enough and are financially able to support themselves to live on their own. As long as you are paying for things and they are living with you, then they are not adults. When my kids turned 18 I asked them one simple thing do you want me to treat you as an adult or a child? You cannot be both. Will they always be my children? Yes! However, I would much rather they become adults and make decisions for themselves versus being a child where my wife and I make their decisions, but I digress.
God put in a special day of the week for us to rest and it is called the Sabbath. Sabbath for some was on Saturday and for others it was on Sunday. Does it have to be one of those days? No as long as you rest somewhere in the 7 days and treat it as a Sabbath.
In America at one time we had the “Blue Laws” which prevented certain activities such as shopping on Sunday. I really wish we were back to those days. For us growing up it was a time for the family to be together, but now Sunday is like any other day and I think it is taking its toll on Americans and especially the family dynamics.
The Sabbath was and is to be a day of rest. The Pharisees and Sadducees took it a little too far and Christ even pointed that out. So what is the Sabbath? It is definitely a time for rest, but it is also a time we are to spend with the Lord. The Lord said for six days you shall labor but on the seventh you shall not.
People need time to recoup. We cannot go 24/7/365 for very long before stuff starts to fall apart, but that is what the businesses want and that is what a lot of Americans seem to want. So what is the price for this type of routine? Look around you, people are hateful towards one another or just angry all around, they are unsympathetic towards others, the family structure is in a state of decay, etc. Can this all be caused by not keeping the Sabbath? I would say no, but I will say it does help contribute to how our society is behaving.
So remember to labor for 6 days and on the seventh keep the Sabbath. Relax and rest and spend time with the Lord for you will need this and maybe just maybe your attitude will change for the better.
Hebrews 4 New International Version (NIV)
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”