Practicing Sabbath in an Age of BusynessSample

Examining Our Thinking on Productivity and Efficiency

Yesterday, we considered the first of three lies that the enemy of souls is hard at work weaving into the fabric of our culture of busyness: Our value as a person is directly proportional to the knowledge and expertise we have obtained throughout our lives.

Today, we will examine a second lie:

Lie #2: Our value as a person is directly proportional to how productive and efficient we are with the work we have been given to do.

Again and again, the Bible speaks to the importance of being a good steward of the work God has given us to do during our time here on earth. As an example, Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters."

However, when the lies of the enemy are allowed to shape our thinking on productivity and efficiency, we stop working from a posture that is secure in our identity in Christ and start working for the praise of others. Work done to earn the praise of others will always leave us unsatisfied, opening the door to a lifestyle where busyness becomes the norm.

At the intersection of productivity and practicing the Sabbath, author and founder of Unhurried Living, Alan Fadling, wrote, "We are a culture that measures value in terms of production or consumption. If the Sabbath is a day set aside each week to cease both of these activities, it's easy to see why our contemporary culture views it as a waste of a day… The gift of the Sabbath day - a day measured not by productivity but by relationship and worship - helps us remember and trust that life is given, not earned. But we live in a culture that expects us to earn everything we have."

Regrettably, there are so many today whose approach to work is like a boat without an anchor that has come untethered from the dock and is now being tossed about by the wind and the waves of productivity and efficiency.

Keeping the Sabbath is the primary spiritual discipline that anchors our weeks, months, and, therefore, our lives to God's gift of rest. The weekly rhythm of practicing the Sabbath is God's gift to a generation trapped on the merry-go-round of busyness. Every week that we say yes to the Sabbath, God is at work cultivating in us a healthy rhythm of rest and work.

As you go about your day, ask the Holy Spirit to show you any lies that have shaped how you approach the work God has given you to steward. Have you fallen into the subtle trap of working for the praise of others? Day by day, what would it look like for you to work from a posture that is secure in your identity in Christ? And are you willing to lay down your work at the feet of Jesus and enter the Sabbath rest that He is inviting you into?