If God were rewriting the 10 Commandments for the fast-paced, high tech 21st century, he might add: “Thou shalt not run about as if thou were a headless chicken” as a variation of “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” This is something that I’ve been struggling with lately. Remembering the Sabbath, whether you celebrate on Sunday or Saturday, is definitely worthwhile. It brings a day of rest, something everyone needs whether they admit it or not.
However, I’m convinced that in order to achieve a Sabbath rest, we must be careful about our time during the week.
What I am talking about is something I’m going to call the “headless chicken syndrome.” I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. We enter so many activities onto our calendars that there is no white space; we get out of bed in the morning and hit the ground running, without stopping until we fall back into bed late at night. We could also call this the “hamster syndrome.” In this syndrome, we live our lives running endlessly in the same direction without stopping. It seems that we lack purpose, even in our flurry of activity.
Lately, I’ve been trying to slow down. It isn’t easy. I’ve even had to resign from a couple of activities that were worthwhile in order to work toward a more peaceful week. I’m sure as I continue this journey, the Lord will reveal more things that need to be cut from my activities, and I must be willing to do that.
It’s all about priorities. We should determine what is truly important. What we believe God is calling us to do. Although most of our activities are good, some aren’t really necessary. Perhaps someone else could handle the activity just as well or even better. Maybe our energies need to be directed elsewhere. Perhaps our children need more attention. Maybe the job we have needs our undivided attention. God can use us in any capacity, we just have to be open to his will.
As we work to live a more simple life God will shape our attitudes so that the Sabbath will be more restful, whenever we celebrate.
