Sabbath Is More Than Self-Care

A Day Apart

In recent years, “Sabbath” has entered the popular lexicon. No longer dismissed as the niche habit of observant Jews and New England Puritans, the Sabbath is now a habit that seemingly everyone aspires to. Tired of constant online connectivity and concerned about declining mental and physical well-being, even people who don’t consider themselves religious are revisiting the neglected practice of setting apart one day in seven.

The benefits, Sabbath’s newest proponents say, are numerous. One author claims regular periods of rest will help you accomplish more work.¹ Another suggests a secular Sabbath will deliver two important goods lacking in a modern lifestyle: “time to contemplate and distance from everyday demands.”² Others tout the Sabbath’s potential to relieve stress and anxiety³, slow life’s hectic pace,⁴ and allow practitioners to enjoy the moment.⁵

They aren’t wrong. But focus on personal gains misses the Sabbath’s bigger point. The Sabbath is more than self-care. And that’s good news.

More Than Choice

It’s not surprising that current discussions of the Sabbath often frame its observance as a personal decision—one option for an overscheduled individual looking to reset his or her priorities. We’re used to living as if what we do with our time is entirely up to us, whether that means working overtime or taking a day off.

But the Sabbath isn’t merely a choice. It comes to us among the commandments God gave to his people on Sinai, one of the ten “words” that summarize his enduring moral law. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” the Lord says (Ex. 20:8). The God who created time decrees how we ought to use it: “six days you shall labor . . . but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20:9–10).

While viewing the Sabbath as a duty might seem to take the joy out of the day, understanding the sabbath as God’s gracious command frees us to delight in his ways. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments,” writes John, “And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:2).

When we humbly submit ourselves to the Lord and stop trying to determine our own use of time (even the time we spend at rest), we acknowledge that we are creatures and he is the Creator. An optional Sabbath makes us lords of our own schedule. A required one reminds us that we are not.

More Than Relaxation

In our work-from-anywhere age, one appeal of the Sabbath is the boundary it erects between work and rest. When 84 percent of Americans check their phones within ten minutes of waking up every morning and 56 percent are on their devices during dinnertime, it’s no wonder we feel desperate to unplug from the daily grind.⁶

The Sabbath gives us a day to close our inboxes and our Slack messages, a day to forego laundry and grocery-store runs, a day to not clock in or log on. Our God rested from his labors on the Sabbath, and he graciously calls us to do so too. As Christopher Watkin explains, “God’s rest [at creation] makes it clear that work is not all there is for God, and we know from Exodus 20 that he doesn’t want it to be all there is for us either.”⁷

The Sabbath unplugs us from our daily work. But simply unplugging is only half the story. On the Sabbath, the Lord frees us from work and frees us unto worship. We could even say that the Lord releases us from one kind of work so we are able to do another kind of work.

The Sabbath isn’t primarily about relaxation—a lazy day in a hammock in the shade, perhaps. It’s about drawing close to Christ and finding true rest in him. “Come to me,” Jesus beckons, “all you labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). When believers use one whole day each week to remember and delight in the Savior who rescued them from death, their souls will be revived. Our daily work is not all there is. Our skills and accomplishments (and sins and failures) are not all there is. There is also Christ and our relationship with him.

A day of worship is better than a day on the couch. When we faithfully participate in corporate worship and spend other parts of the day in prayer and Scripture meditation, we may be tired when the Sabbath comes to a close. But we will have met with Jesus. And there we will have experienced true rest.

We All Need Reminders!

In the busyness of life it’s all too easy to forget who God is, what he has done for us, and who we are because of him. Crossway wants to help! Sign up today to receive concise Scripture-filled, gospel-saturated reminders that will encourage you and strengthen your walk with Jesus.

More Than Me (and Maybe My Friends)

A few years ago, an organization of Jewish thinkers published “The Sabbath Manifesto,” a deliberately secular list of ten rules designed to create a day for unplugging and resting.⁸ Among the rules are “find silence” and “connect with loved ones.” The organizers said they wanted to make the rules “open for vast interpretation.”⁹ Depending on one’s preferences, these rules structure very different types of days. For some, the constantly-connected nature of our lives makes a solitary Sabbath with lots of silence seem ideal. For others, a Sabbath is best when it’s social. It’s an opportunity to spend time with favorite people: college friends, family members, pickleball partners. Either way, it’s up to the individual Sabbath observer to determine who to spend the day with.

The Christian Sabbath, however, calls us to something greater. The Lord doesn’t leave us to find our own Sabbath friend group (or to avoid other people altogether). Instead, he uses one day a week to remind us that we are designed for the community of his body. We haven’t chosen the members of our local church, but God has chosen them for us, and he intends for us to spend time together. Each member of his body has gifts and graces that are necessary to the whole body (see 1 Cor. 12), and the gathered congregation displays Christ’s “manifold wisdom” to the created order (Eph. 3:10). By using the Sabbath to prioritize times of gathered worship and times of informal fellowship with God’s people, we affirm God’s goodness in uniting us to his church.

Throughout the week we make time in our schedule for people who matter to us, but on the Lord’s Day, God makes time in our schedule for the people who matter to him.

An optional Sabbath makes us lords of our own schedule. A required one reminds us that we are not.

Pursue More

As you “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8), you may find that your anxiety levels decrease and your sense of well-being increases. You may feel more present in the moment and more connected to other people. You may be able to let go of last week’s stresses and embrace the new week’s work with renewed energy. It’s possible—even probable—that at least some of these things will happen.

But none of them will be the greatest blessing of the day.

Listen to what Isaiah says about the chief result of honoring the sabbath:

If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. (Isa. 58:13–14a)

Isaiah tells us that if we put aside what we want to do on the Sabbath, give up our personal goals for the day, and submit ourselves to the Lord’s command, then—and only then!—will we “take delight in the Lord.”

It turns out that the fruit of the Sabbath is not ultimately about our well-being. It’s about having more of God himself.

What could be better?

Megan Hill is the author of Sabbath Rest.

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