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Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2007

Grace Church of Burlington June 3, 2007 “Every now and then go away—even briefly, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer; since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power.”                                                                                                Leonardo da Vinci             Are you feeling all worn out? Like you really could use some time away from your co-workers, your desk and all your devices that ring, beep or vibrate 24 hours a day? Well, then maybe you should just take that time off. A recent study reported that more than half of all workers don't use all of their vacation time. This study showed that 56% do not use all of their allotted paid time off and a full 30% said they take less than half of their days off. Plus, one in five workers reported that they only plan on getting away for long weekends this year without taking a full vacation. Yet study after study shows that employees taking time off have an improved job satisfaction and greater productivity.             Sadly, in our high tech world even when we choose to get away from it all many of us don’t. When we pack the bags, round up the kids and head out of town to “get some R and R,” frequently we carry along our laptops, cell phones, ipods, DVD players and even a Gameboy. Isn’t it funny how we take it all with us so that we can “get away from it all”? Maybe that’s why this study also indicated that nearly one third of workers return from vacation more stressed than they were before they left for vacation.             The Bible commands us to work, yet Scripture also commands us to rest. Under the Mosaic Law those who insisted on working all of the time without taking the Sabbath day of rest were subject to the death penalty. Somehow I think that would get the attention of today's overly busy, stressed-out workaholics, who are so busy providing for their families that they fail to spend any time with them. If God desires us to rest occasionally from our labors, then it’s no doubt stretching the matter only slightly to see in the Sabbath principle a justification for taking off work for a family vacation for a couple of weeks when summer rolls around.             Christians have often disagreed about how strictly to observe the Sabbath principle: Does it mean that all businesses should be shut down? Is shopping work? Does playing a game violate the Sabbath? How about watching it on TV? Is it lawful to have fun on the Sabbath?             It should be remembered that the Sabbath, properly speaking, is not just Law but Gospel. When Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath by helping people, He set forth an important principle, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). That means that the Sabbath is God's gift to busy,  weary human beings. He gives us a break, time to recharge our lives by spending time with Him, our families, and ourselves.  Under the Old Covenant the Sabbath was a particular day of the week, but even the Old Testament provided for taking off for longer chunks of time:  letting the land rest everyseven years (Leviticus 25:2) and canceling all debts on the seventh of seven years.  Just as we are called to our work, we are called—by the Word of God—to rest. To put it another way, God gives us our vocations and He also gives us our vacations.             Vacations allow us to attend to one of our vocations that we too often neglect: that of the family. Being a husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister—each of these, the Reformers taught, is a vocation from God. There is something almost holy about everyone in the family piling into a car and spending, in that space, time together. Vacation allows for quantity time, which is even better than quality time. Car rides mean the chance for conversation, for the cultivation of in-jokes, and for having experiences together that, remembered, constitute a family history. A good percentage of vacations consist in visiting extended families, which are now typically spread across the country. These relationships are also important to keep up, since the adults in one family are still sons and daughters—children—to their parents as long as they are living, not to mention brothers and sisters to their siblings, and their vocation in their original family remains. Grandparents and grandchildren are uncontaminated blessings to each other. Believe it or not, even when family members in close vacation quarters get on each other's nerves, it’s still better than being alone.             The same God Who called us to work has called us to rest. If your company gives you time off, use every second of it. If you’re the boss, make sure that vacation is one of the benefits you give yourself. We need time away from the daily grind. Take that time to deepen your relationships with the Lord, your spouse, children and extended family. Do something new and even challenging. A friend of mine visits a mission field every vacation. At the very least explore this beautiful country the Lord has blessed us with.             If someone gave you several hundred dollars and you never used it, that would be foolish. If your employer gives you several days or weeks off, and you never use them...that too is foolish. So, please take a break and get some good solid rest!