“If they stop they’ll die…”

A friend recommended the book The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero. It as a book influencing his life so he recommended it to me. I am grateful.

There is a chapter on Sabbath in the book that coincided with a podcast I finished on the same day. The podcast is an interview with A J Swoboda and it is well worth your time to listen.

Swoboda spoke on the need for Sabbath, but in American Christianity is the one commandment pastors will break all the time… and get a pay raise for doing so. We reward busyness.

Swoboda said something similar to Scazzero regarding Sabbath. We typically see “Sabbath” in a secular rhythm: we work hard to “earn” rest.

The sacred rhythm of Sabbath is reversed: we rest so that we may work.

Scazerro had consulted a friend who was a therapist because Scazerro had learned the rhythm of Sabbath before it wrecked him completely, but when he shared it with other pastors, they kept on working.

His friend dropped a bombshell (and I know it’s true because I’ve been there): “They can’t stop. If they stop they’ll die. They’re terrified. They’re frightened to death of what they’ll see inside themselves if they slow down.”

Our self-worth is too often wrapped up in our busyness. We fear the silence. We fear the possible emptiness.

Sabbath isn’t to be feared. It is to be embraced. It is not to be kept legalistically. It is a touchpoint of grace in our lives. We learn to delight in God. We learn that he delights in us. We learn that the world doesn’t revolve around us.

As Dallas Willard used to advise people: “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Live in the rhythm of grace and rest.