Several things have been going through my mind for the last few weeks - rest, grace, and the Sabbath. I haven't made a connection until today.
On Saturday, I saw a teacher blog post that had a PLU slide. It said, "How to survive your season of suffering." As if our job is a picture of suffering. How sad is that? That a presenter had to tell young teachers to remember to eat, drink water, and rest. Needless to say, this got me thinking.
Teaching today is a 24/7 job. Literally! I work roughly nine hours a day in the brick and mortar building. I come home, cook, wash dishes, and usually do another hour or two of work. Sunday, I usually spend three or four hours working. Matt calls it "Teachers subsidizing education." He isn't far from the truth, besides my unpaid time, I supplement my curriculum at my expense.
So as these thoughts pressed in I thought about rest. At church our guest speaker spoke on "Sabbath Rest." At this point Dan just stares at me and I said, "Ok God, I'm listening."
Did you know rest is mentioned between 390 and 520 times in the Bible depending on your translation?
The Hebrew word "sabat" means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The fourth commandment tells us, "To "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labors and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of laboring." (gotquestions.org)
Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience”
Like most people my age I grew up practicing a form of "rest," which for us was on Sunday. We didn't cook, clean, shop, or do laundry on Sunday. We went to church and relaxed.
Now friend, I completely understand that there is no rest without Jesus. However, as I pondered these things I thought of all I have on my to do list, and then I pondered one day of no work, thinking about work, or reading about work. Could I even do it? Is it even possible to disconnect from work, something that is a huge part of who I am? Would it give me a new outlook on life and work? Would it make me a better teacher in the long run?
The Westminster Larger Catechism says, "...we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.
Friend, I probably don't have an answer to this, but I do know that teaching in this time is the hardest profession around. And if we don't take time to prepare our hearts we will not be successful.
