{"id":12897,"date":"2021-12-15T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2c58a4cb-9abe-11e8-99ad-ca52c1e5b2af"},"modified":"2023-06-23T13:43:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T19:43:50","slug":"things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/","title":{"rendered":"Things I Wish I\u2019d Known: Actually Taking a Sabbath"},"content":{"rendered":"

This last topic for my series of posts is one that I think is perhaps most important, but I\u2019m not too<\/em> sure how applicable it is outside of Asia. When I was in Australia, this issue of work-life balance definitely wasn\u2019t as pronounced, since working late over there meant finishing at 7 or 8 p.m., but over here in Hong Kong, it usually means working past midnight. Regardless, I think the principle applies, and here\u2019s what I have to share.<\/p>\n

Take a day off.<\/p>\n

Young people often work hard when they\u2019re starting off at their first jobs. Some want to prove that they\u2019re the best, work their way to the top, and win fame and recognition. Others, fueled by idealism and a hunger for justice,\u00a0want to bring change. Yet others simply love that they\u2019re actually doing something with real-world applications and put their whole hearts into it. Whatever your reason, please continue, but remember:<\/p>\n

Take a day off.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s a biblical command \u2014 one of the 10 big ones \u2014 so you don\u2019t really need me to tell you that, but seriously, if there\u2019s one thing that I wish I had known when I was younger it\u2019s this:<\/p>\n

Take a day off<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

OK, headings and formatting jokes aside, you\u2019d be surprised how many people ignore this principle.<\/p>\n

For me, I think this is one of the key reasons I\u2019ve been able to survive for so long, even without family, in a city that is often described as faster paced than New York and London combined. Although I\u2019m not legalistic about it, I\u2019ve jealously guarded my Sabbaths throughout the seven years I\u2019ve been in Hong Kong, and I know it\u2019s made a huge difference in my time here.<\/p>\n

Alright, so let\u2019s talk about why taking a day off is important, because apparently, being the fourth\u00a0commandment isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

1. God wants us to take a break from our work (and not for our work)<\/h4>\n

so that we can detach our identities from what we do to earn a living. Humans were not created as simple beasts of burden; we should not be slaves to a boss, to money or to a job. We have human dignity, and having a Sabbath reminds us of that truth. Our identities aren\u2019t found in our work, important though it is.<\/p>\n

2. We need a Sabbath because it\u2019s good for us.<\/h4>\n

Psychologically, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually \u2014 each of these areas of our lives are improved when we have a whole day off. Not only do we get a chance to rest, process and recharge, we also get a chance to spend more time with friends and family, growing closer to our community.<\/p>\n

3. It affirms God\u2019s sovereignty in our lives.<\/h4>\n

Yes, there are always more things to do, more work, more studying, more errands, etc. The more intentional you become, the busier you\u2019ll get, and pretty soon you\u2019ll run out of time to do it all. So when we take a whole day off \u2014 free from errands, service and work \u2014 we acknowledge that we are finite beings who can trust in and depend on an infinite, very wise and all-powerful God.<\/p>\n

There are many other reasons to take a day off, but I didn\u2019t have time to go through them all. Here\u2019s a great video clip<\/a>\u00a0I saw the other day that talks a little bit more about the fourth commandment, and I think it’s worth a watch.<\/p>\n

Oh, and one more thing. When I first started working, I\u2019d take my one day off a week and spend the whole thing running around doing errands: buying groceries, doing laundry, fixing appliances and paying bills \u2014 an urban\/modern version of all the things that would have gotten me stoned in the Old Testament (and I don\u2019t mean high).<\/p>\n

Eventually, my mentor gave me some advice. If I was so busy the rest of the week that I couldn\u2019t learn to squeeze in all these things, I needed to take at least half a day off, in addition to my Sabbath, to just run my errands. Very wise words.<\/p>\n

What do you usually do on your days off?\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Related posts:<\/strong>\u00a0Things I Wish I’d Known: “Intentionality<\/a>,” “Submitting to Authority<\/a>,” “Money Matters<\/a>,” “Making New Friends<\/a>“<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s talk about why taking a day off is important, because apparently, being the fourth\u00a0commandment isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":17964,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12897","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-growth"],"yoast_head":"\nThings I Wish I\u2019d Known: Actually Taking a Sabbath - Boundless<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Let\u2019s talk about why taking a day off is important, because apparently, being the fourth\u00a0commandment isn\u2019t enough.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Things I Wish I\u2019d Known: Actually Taking a Sabbath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s talk about why taking a day off is important, because apparently, being the fourth\u00a0commandment isn\u2019t enough.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boundless\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-23T19:43:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/sabbath-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"637\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/\",\"name\":\"Things I Wish I\u2019d Known: Actually Taking a Sabbath - Boundless\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/sabbath-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-15T07:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-23T19:43:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Let\u2019s talk about why taking a day off is important, because apparently, being the fourth\u00a0commandment isn\u2019t enough.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/sabbath-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/sabbath-header.jpg\",\"width\":637,\"height\":315},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/things-i-wish-id-known-actually-taking-a-sabbath\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog Posts\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Things I Wish I\u2019d Known: Actually Taking a Sabbath\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/\",\"name\":\"Boundless\",\"description\":\"Find your place. 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