When I was growing up in Atlanta we had blue laws, which meant no business could be open on Sunday. Families went to church together, rested, and enjoyed the day. The politicians and the businessmen of the time respected what God had commanded; to rest on the Sabbath.

For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. Exodus 31:15

However, in today’s world, not many people know what the Sabbath is or why we should take a day to rest, even though God says it is so important that the person who works on the Sabbath is put to death!

The Netherlands has a concept of “niksen,” or the Dutch art of doing nothing. I read an article by Olga Mecking, a writer, journalist, and translator based in the Netherlands. She is the author of “Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing.” She had just moved there and saw that the Dutch are consistently ranked among the world’s happiest people. When she applied it to her own life, she wrote that her perspective about happiness shifted significantly.

She mentions that the idea of niksen might seem selfish or boring at first glance, but it’s actually a service to you and your community.

Well of course! The world is beginning to follow what the Lord has commanded all along – that to be productive and happy, we must take one day a week to rest. To really rest and give honor to the Lord on that day.

Jesus shared how important the sabbath is by saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” Mark 2:27

POP Talk had the opportunity to interview Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith on the subject of rest. She is a board-certified internal medicine physician and a work-life integration researcher with over twenty years of experience in clinical practice. She is the author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, and Come Empty: Pour Out Life’s Hurts, and Receive God’s Healing Love. She has been featured on The 700 Club, Daystar, CNN Health, and POP Talk.

Her personal story is that she never stopped to rest, and she had burnout. She understands workaholics and the many long-term effects of focusing only on work. She also has seen how the church is exhausted by not having a day of rest.

How can this apply to you and me? My pastor, Dr. Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Texas, wrote a book on this subject of rest. Take the Day Off shows us how God wants to give us the gift of rest and how impactfully it affects our lives. When we don’t take a day of rest, everything in our lives will suffer.

God wants His children to have an abundant life, and He gives us the book of instructions. It’s all in His Holy Bible. We need to remember to read and embrace these instructions. I pray you make a promise to yourself to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, just as God and Jesus instructed us to do. I promise your life will be changed for the better.

Action Plan

The best way to start honoring the Sabbath is not to work that day. For most Christians, Sunday is our Sabbath. Church, lunch, rest/naps, being outdoors, and walks are ways to honor this day. If possible, stay off your computer and do not do any work. Yes, we are under Grace and not under the law, but Jesus shared how important that one day of rest is.

What did Jesus say about the day of rest?

Jesus taught that the Sabbath day was made for our benefit (see Mark 2:27 above). The purpose of the Sabbath is to give us a certain day of the week to direct our thoughts and actions toward God. It is not a day merely to rest from work. It is a sacred day to be spent in worship and reverence.

Manna from Heaven

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:2-3