Recently Matthew Sleeth, a medical doctor, released a new book entitled: 24 / 6. His premise: 24 / 7 is not God's Will; 24 / 6 is God's Will, e.g. a routine, not only relentless, but restful, observing at least one day as Sabbath.
Among other things, relentless routine (without rest), risks oversight. For relentless work leads to
fatigue, and fatigue prompts error. In Judges 15+16, Samson is
pushing it. Determined to ‘get even’
with the Philistines Samson works ‘night and day’ for victory, demonstrating his
legendary strength. But in the process, eventually,
he gets ‘worn down’: I mean ‘ground down,” to the very core. In fact, Judges 16:16 tells us, eventually,
Samson becomes “….tired to death…” (Judges 16:16).
Have you ever been ‘tired to death’?
Well the results were deadly for Samson. I mean right after becoming ‘tired to death,’ he tells his girlfriend Delilah, who's in cahoots with the Philistines, what
God told him not to tell: the secret
of his divine favor. “No razor has ever been on my head because I have been…set
apart to God…If my head is shaved, my [favor] would leave me….” (Judges 16:17).
And so Delilah lulls Samson to sleep and arranges for his hair to be cut off, and with it, God’s favor. The outcome is tragic: why Samson rises to confront the Philistines “…but he did know…the Lord had left him. [And]…the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes… (Judges 16:20-21).
And so Delilah lulls Samson to sleep and arranges for his hair to be cut off, and with it, God’s favor. The outcome is tragic: why Samson rises to confront the Philistines “…but he did know…the Lord had left him. [And]…the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes… (Judges 16:20-21).
Pretty brutal outcome! But that’s what can happen when margin,
Sabbath goes out of life.
In his book, The Twenty-Four Hour Society, Martin Moore-Ede notes that the most tragic accidents: the Exxon Valdez spill, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, the Challenger explosion, etc. were all caused by misjudgments arising from too little rest and too much drive. And for good reason: significant fatigue is equivalent to moderate alcohol consumption, reducing attention by 75%, reducing judgment by 50%, reducing communication by 30%, and reducing memory by 20%. Translated: when we’re tired, we’re a mess!
Do you want to be a mess? Of course not. Well then, take a break. Respond to the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls..." Matthew 11:28-29.
Sounds inviting and refreshing to me; how about you?
In his book, The Twenty-Four Hour Society, Martin Moore-Ede notes that the most tragic accidents: the Exxon Valdez spill, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, the Challenger explosion, etc. were all caused by misjudgments arising from too little rest and too much drive. And for good reason: significant fatigue is equivalent to moderate alcohol consumption, reducing attention by 75%, reducing judgment by 50%, reducing communication by 30%, and reducing memory by 20%. Translated: when we’re tired, we’re a mess!
Do you want to be a mess? Of course not. Well then, take a break. Respond to the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11: "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls..." Matthew 11:28-29.
Sounds inviting and refreshing to me; how about you?
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