Labor Day Weekend
“There is nothing better for human beings than to eat, drink, and experience pleasure in their labor. I also saw that this is from God’s hand.” -Ecclesiastes 2:24
How often do we stop to think about these words? We always here the secular form of the saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!” What if we stopped and said our rest is as, if not more, important than our labor? What if we quit fragmenting time to become more efficient and productive machines, and instead focused on kindness, rest, gentleness, and loving the world in which God created? Labor Day weekend is one of those favorite weekends. College Football kicks off (sorry, LSU fans) and we know Fall is around the corner. We stop to rest and enjoy the toil of our labor, for there is much laboring.
Labor is not only about our physical, backbreaking labor. That type of labor is from another time. Labor is mentally laborious for many of us. We feel we must always be on for others, as if we can do it better than God. Yet, if God does not answer immediately, the faithful understand and wait in patience. However, if we called, texted, or emailed someone, all the sudden the patience is gone! I need an answer now!
I saw someone tweet this as their email signature and it struck me as wise. See what you think”
“It is normal for me to take 2 days to read my emails and 2 more days to reflect on the matter and respond calmly. The culture of immediacy and the constant fragmentation of time are not very compatible with the kind of life I lead.”
Some of you may gasp! “How dare they! People are waiting on them!” Others probably said, “I need to give this a try!” If think it is fair to expect people to respond, but I think it is not necessary that we expect immediacy.
My friends, let us rest in God. That is where we find our strength and hope. If God’s expectations of us were to immediately get things done right, well, we are up the wrong creek without a paddle! But God is patient and kind. Let us practice those same virtues so that the fruit of patience may shine brightly in this over-productive world as we remember to rest from the toils of our labor!
Zac