Session 2: Work & Rest

This week we picked up from where we left off last week: it's far too easy to either overwork or underwork (funny how underwork is not actually a word, but overwork is!).  As this clip from Waking Life shows, there are two kinds of sufferers in the world - those who don't have enough life, and those with an overabundance.  Could the same be said of work?



So which nature do you ascribe to, fear or laziness?  This actually a false dichotomy, for it only leaves us with negative answers.  And when we only have negative options, then the only noble thing to do seems to be... QUIT!  (YouTube won't let me embed this video, but it's a scene from Fight Club about the two main characters quitting their jobs).

The thing is, when it comes down to only thinking about what's best for ourselves, we become very selfish and make decisions based solely on ourselves and not each other.  Take for example this clip from Dilbert:



The dog doesn't give a darn about Dilbert because he's under the philosophy of "I think therefore I am."  There's a popular African proverb that runs counter to this, which says, "I am because you are."  This expression denotes the interconnectedness of us all, rather than viewing every person as an island (good fodder for any LOST fans like myself).

Another example of realizing the world's not all about us is from the ending of Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray goes from thinking he's a god to giving of himself to someone he loves:



But what does Scripture say in all of this?  One thing I wanted to emphasize this session is Sabbath, or rest.  Right after God creates the world in Genesis 1, God rests in the opening of Genesis 2.  God celebrates what is good, even though history has yet to begin.  Yet too often we want to know, "What's Next?" and thus never fully celebrate or rest in what IS.  Here's an illustrative story from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle:

In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness.
And God said, "Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done." And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man.  Mud as man alone could speak.  God leaned close as mud as man sat up, looked around, and spoke.  Man blinked. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely.
"Everything must have a purpose?" asked God.
"Certainly," said man.
"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God.
And He went away.

 I'm not advocating a nihilistic view here.  All I want to say is that too often we jump to trying to figure out the purpose or meaning of our work, and this can get in the way of truly resting.

God commands us to rest as the 4th commandment (Exodus 20:8-11).  In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus follows this commandment with an invitation, to come and find rest in him.

How do you find rest?  What do you do to rest your mind, your body, your spirit?  Is it in worship?  Exercise?  Prayer? Meditation?  What?

This week, may you find true rest from your work, that you might be fully engaged in the world and in life, fully working, fully playing, and fully resting.