Hating the Sabbath

This is a little more journaly than I normal put up here, because I wrote it straight to me. Hope it's helpful.

Yesterday was Sunday. My only day off of the week. Andie made breakfast, we went to church as a family. Surprisingly, both kids sat through the entirety of the sermon. That was a relief. Andie took them home during Sunday School, and I taught a class. Was filling in for another teacher, so I taught on the importance of the preached word, taking Romans 10:13-17 amd 1 Timothy 3:15-4:2 as my primary texts. Rest of the day was wholly unproductive.

Took the family to Taco Johns, tried unsuccessfully to nap, then went to my mother-in-law's house (our normal destination on a Sunday afternoon). Spent the rest of the day watching football and a movie. It could have been a relaxing, enjoyable afternoon. Instead, I spent a good part of the time fretting over what I wasn't getting done. I have next week's Sunday School lesson to prep. I have two Absolute curriculum lessons to write, one to video and upload (along with editing it's manuscript), blog posts I should work on, books to read. Yet I did nothing. And I was wracked with guilt for it. But should I have been? Jesus says in Mark that the Sabbath was made for man. God commands a day of rest in Exodus.

Yahweh commands it, Jesus commends it: why am I afraid to practice it? Especially in a life where I am so bogged down constantly by fatigue; how could I not relish the gift of a day free from labor? I don't know. I don't know.

I worship myself. My productivity, my performance, my adding value to the world. It won't be remembered. It. Will. Not. Be. Remembered. That's one of the main points in Ecclesiastes. Whereas, obedience to God and doing what He has actually said to do, that has benefits to the thousandth generation! Don't hate the Sabbath. Thank God for the gift that it is, and enjoy it. He has given you six other days to be productive.