by Marilynn Chadwick

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9,10 NIV

It's been said that Americans are the only people who worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship. But according to the Bible, honoring God with the tithe of our finances, our "first fruits," comes with the promise of material provision. Similarly, taking a day off each week honors God with the "first fruits" of our time. We trust him to multiply our work, even as we rest.

The word Sabbath, or sabat in Hebrew, means "to cease, desist, rest." Put another way, Sabbath simply means to stop working. The very first use of sabat in the Bible is in the Creation narrative: "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2,3 NIV).

Sabbath can be described as taking one day each week to rest from our work. Work six days and rest one, a rhythm which follows God's pattern as Creator. Work and rest are holy. Both are an example of what it means to be created in the image of God.

Perhaps we can learn a few tips on Sabbath-keeping from observant Jews. Worship, rest, family time, taking a walk, and reading are among the activities considered good Sabbath practices for the faithful Jew. What is not good on the Sabbath can be summed up in three words: work, commerce [shopping and spending], and worry.

When God gave Moses the law, he reminded him of how he brought the Israelites out of slavery. As if to say, "slaves cannot take a day off; only free people can" (Exodus 20:2). Sabbath rest is a weekly testimony against the perpetual grind of a slave's work. It gives us a picture of who God is and what it means to be created to be in his image. God's fourth commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" reminds us of Creation. More words are used to explain this one command than any of the other nine (Exodus 20: 8-11).

Sabbath makes space for nurturing our families, our church, and our communities. Sabbath-keeping helps us care for our souls in an age when many are desperately thirsty for peace. Rest from our work is also a theological theme woven throughout the Bible. It describes the liberating life of grace for the believer who has found true rest in Christ's salvation.

Perhaps St. Augustine could have been hinting at our need for Sabbath rest when he made this famous statement in his Confessions: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."