Our Desperate Need for Rest in a Hectic Hustle Culture
Our bodies were never meant to perpetually keep pushing and working at all hours of the day. Our bodies were meant to work hard … and rest.
A decade ago, Hustle Culture and hashtags were all the rage. From #riseandgrind to #girlboss to #dreambig, #nevergiveup, #moneymindset, #ambition, #believeinyourself, #keepgoing, #determination, #hardwork, and #hustlehard, the overall message was to stay motivated and work hard, at all costs, to get where you want to go.
The goal was to work hard enough, no matter what your ambition and dedication to work did to your sleep, fitness, mental health, or spiritual health. If you could dream it, you could achieve it.
What could be wrong with this?
Everything.
Reality check
To be completely transparent, I’m a fan of hard work. Diligence, dependability, and responsibility have been part of who I am for as long as I can remember. I’m not sure if it’s part of my personality type or simply the fact that I’m a firstborn daughter.
Hard work and diligence is good. Proverbs 14:23 reminds us, “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”
After all, work doesn’t magically complete itself. Following through with effort is necessary.
But it’s dangerous to get caught up in the belief that if you can work hard enough and push yourself to spend enough time pouring yourself into your goals, you’ll achieve success.
Contrary to popular belief, all of your effort doesn’t ensure success.
By believing that you can do it all and achieve it all if you simply try hard enough, it’s easy to become proud. And if that pride turns into believing in yourself and your hard work, you can begin to elevate yourself into a godlike position.
Not only is God the One who gives and takes away (Job 1:21), but in both the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus taught, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12, also Luke 14:11).
If, through Hustle Culture, you exalt yourself, you should also predict a humbling.
The hazards of hustle
Aside from the spiritual implications of trusting in yourself to work hard enough and long enough to achieve success, some physical implications inevitably bring physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion.
According to Madeline Miles in Better Up, “Hustle culture, also known as burnout culture, centers around the idea that working long hours and sacrificing self-care are required in order to succeed. The promise is that if you give work all of your attention, you can achieve anything and everything.”
When you sacrifice self-care and work long hours day after day, week after week, burnout will happen. Our bodies were never meant to perpetually keep pushing and working at all hours of the day.
Our bodies were meant to work hard – and rest.
The gift of rest
Have you ever considered that God never commanded us to be busy? Rather, He commanded us to rest.
In His infinite wisdom, God knew humans needed rest. Perhaps that’s why, during Creation, He set aside one day of rest (see Genesis 2:1-3).
God didn’t need rest, but we DO. How many times have you overworked and never reaped benefits of the work because it spoiled your relationships or health or peace of mind.
A day of rest, or Sabbath, is a way for humans to stop living in constant motion so we can see God at work. It’s stepping aside from attempting to do everything in our own power and choosing to rest and trust that God will do everything in HIS power.
Sabbath creates space away from your busyness so you can rest and connect with God. You can enjoy this life and enjoy Him instead of frittering your time away trying to catch up on a neverending to-do list.
As Jesus taught in Mark 2:27-28, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Sabbath was created for people. Not only will Sabbath refresh us, but we’ll also learn to trust God more as we trust Him to care for our lives and commitments while we rest our minds, bodies, and spirits.
The Sabbath is a day to just BE. Not DO. We are human beings, not human doings. No matter what the Hustle Culture might communicate, you are NOT what you do.
Sabbath is our weekly reminder that WE NEED GOD.
But how can I NOT work one day a week?
If we are
- overworking,
- overwhelmed,
- always busy,
- always doing,
- always hustling,
- always rushing,
we won’t be able to slow down and observe what God is doing.
Just like God stopped from all of His doing to appreciate the goodness of what He did, we can do that too.
We can take a break each week to stop and reflect on what God has done or what He is doing.
It’s like tithing for our bodies. When you tithe, you give 10 percent and watch God stretch 90 percent of your money. If you give one day of your week to Sabbath, you can watch God stretch your time in six days.
It’s also like a deposit, or an investment, of faith. We show God we trust Him with our time, and He multiplies it.
On the Sabbath, we can celebrate God and His faithfulness. We don’t have to worry about what we are – or are not – getting done.
3 tips to celebrating the Sabbath
Wondering how you can take a Sabbath rest? Here are three practical and simple tips:
1. Don’t schedule anything on your calendar.
No housework. No errands. No appointments. No chores. Let your mind and body rest. If something keeps you busy – like devices — take a break!
2. Plan ahead.
Plan your meals. Plan your home. Plan your chores ahead of time. Free up your Sabbath by planning and preparing ahead of time.
3. Look forward to it.
Take the day to rest, be present, and invest in the people you love. You will have a chance to connect and spend time with people. You’ll have time to heal physically and mentally from all that you’ve faced in the week.
Once you’ve planned and prepared and looked forward to a day of rest, enjoy your weekly break. Rest as God intended you to. Forget about hustle culture and watch the ways God blesses you in your rest.
How hard is it for you to stop working or to purposefully NOT do all the things on your to-do list? In what ways can you plan ahead to enjoy a weekly Sabbath rest?
- Our Desperate Need for Rest in a Hectic Hustle Culture - September 21
- What Does it Mean to Worship the Lord? - August 8
- Your First Step of Christian Faith - July 25
