A number of
years ago I asked my wife Pam to do an exercise with me in intentional
living. The question we were answering
was “What do you want your kids to
remember about you?” One of the
answers I gave was they would remember I loved them sacrificially so they grew
up to be spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically healthy
people. But I have mostly remembered one
of the things Pam wrote down: “I want them to remember that I played with
them.”
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| Pam's contribution to Crazy Hat Day at Markham School where she teaches 7th Grade science. Aggie the dog says, "Mom Rocks!!" |
Let me be
honest here. I’m not real great at
playing with others. Well – that’s not
true. I’m good at playing with others if
I have a chance of winning against them!
And there is a bit of the problem.
I’m just slightly a touch on
the Type A personality side of the spectrum (that was sarcasm, in case you
didn’t get it). You know those Type A
people – driven, results-oriented overachievers who are never satisfied with
the status quo. Type A people have
brought a lot of good to the world, don’t get me wrong. But they have also left a trail of damaged
goods in themselves and others along the path.
A Type A person isn’t likely to become a Type B person who is carefree,
happy-go-lucky and go-with-the-flow. But
they can hav
e health and balance in their life and it has a lot to do with the
ability to play.
As I’m
reading through the Bible in a year, I was reading Exodus 31:12-17 where Moses
gets instructions from God on the Sabbath at the end of a whole bunch of very
detailed instructions on how to go about worshipping him. And God starts it this way: “Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths…”
Above all? More important than
anything else you said? Why is this so
important?
The Sabbath
has its roots in the creation order.
(See Genesis 2:2-3 for the context.)
Genesis tells us God did the work of creation for six days and
then on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. (see
Exodus 31:17) This seventh day was holy,
which means set apart and consecrated for God.
When we are practicing holiness in our life, there will be rest and
renewal. It is part of God’s unchanging
order of life.
Here’s the
problem in our lives today – we live in a margin-less and boundary-less
world. This means we are constantly
driven, constantly connected to the electronic leash of our smartphones,
constantly under stress, constantly on the move. We live a life without Sabbath. We live a life without the space to
play. We don’t rest and we aren’t
getting renewed.
Let me be
honest again. I don’t like talking about
this subject because I really have a long way to go in my obedience in this
area. I’m learning that taking time to
rest is an act of faith, it is saying I’m not bigger than God. Taking rest is trusting God can get done what
needs to be done without me being overworked and overstressed. Just like giving 10% of my income is trusting
God that I can accomplish more with 90% of my income, taking a Sabbath day of
rest is trusting God that I can do enough in 6 days.
Feel free
to ask me how I’m doing with my play-life.
And when you do, be prepared for me to ask you the same! Let’s take time to play. We’ll be better lovers of God and much more
fondly remembered if we do.
Peace and grace,
David
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