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I grew up in a Baptist home where Sundays were sacred days, set apart for no work. No picking butter beans, no building projects, and my favorite, absolutely no lawn work on Sundays! The only exceptions were frying chicken and washing the dishes, but all other work was forbidden. Sunday was my family's Sabbath. The word "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew "Shabbat," meaning "to cease" or "desist." Some confusion and legalism have surrounded beliefs about the Sabbath, but what does the Bible have to say about it?
The keeping of the Sabbath is the fourth of the Ten Commandments: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work..." (Exodus 20:8-10a). Don't overlook the call here to work! Humanity was created to work (Genesis 2:15). God's desire is six days for work and one day for rest. God illustrated His appeal for the Sabbath's rest when He created everything in six days and rested on the seventh. Let's be clear: God did not rest because He was tired, nor did He need a break; He set an example for us to follow. We see a clear mandate to work and an obligation to rest. Work six, rest one!
Jesus was heavily scrutinized for plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23), healing the sick on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1-6), and making a mud pie by which he restored sight to a blind man on the Sabbath (John 9). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and declared that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Jesus argued that the design of the Sabbath was to grant man, not God, a period of needed rest. The Sabbath was not designed to burden man but to bless man.
Most people that sit down in my office for counseling are not resting. Chronic insomnia is the onset of a variety of problems. I always ask two questions: (1) When was your last Sabbath? and (2) How many hours of sleep are you getting each night? Ninety-nine percent of the time, I can predict the answer. They are not sleeping or prioritizing rest. I usually suggest taking magnesium citrate, which has been proven to increase deep sleep and rest. I also remind them of God's plan: work six and rest one.
Paul cautioned, "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or concerning a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath" (Colossians 2:16–17). Whether your Sabbath is on a Monday or a Thursday is insignificant. The main point is that everyone needs to schedule a weekly rest day. I have designated Saturday as my sabbath. Due to my work schedule, sometimes I divide my sabbath into two days and take a half-day on Friday and a half-day on Saturday. Turn everything off. Walk and talk to God. Read a book. Find a hammock. Bottom line: I schedule my day of rest every week, and you should schedule one too. "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15–16). Don't you think your creator knows best?
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