It is
almost as predictable as the rude annoyance of the alarm clock. Every Monday, most of us return to our
workplace and are asked by our co-workers, “So, did you have a good weekend?” The presumption behind the question is often
that the weekend was a time of self-devoted leisure for us, at least in large
part. Given my responsibilities in
multiple jobs, paid and otherwise, I’ve often replied, “Weekend? What’s a
weekend?” Beyond that personal
frustration though, there is an increased sense that Christians in the West
have allowed our society to dictate our conceptions of how we think about and
allocate our time.
According
to the OED[i],
the term weekend was first noted in 1638, but didn’t come into more common use
until the latter 19th century.
So this is one phrase we can’t blame on the Internet or Gen X. It took 20th century advertising though
to elevate the weekend to near Nirvana status in American society. If we are to believe the hype, the five day
work week is akin to being stuck in the Matrix or in one of Dante’s
many circles of hell, whereas the weekend is a two-day taste of heaven (assuming
you have purchased all the correct products which will guarantee your
happiness). I’m not going to even touch
on the sinful covetousness involved in this dance, though hopefully it is
obvious.
At the
risk of raining on your weekend parade, I will point out that this whole idea
of a ‘weekend’ is unbiblical in multiple ways.
The place to start in any Christian conception of time is the Lord’s
Day, or Christian Sabbath. The Reformed
view of scripture holds that the Sabbath was a creation mandate given to all
mankind, not just Israel. Further, the Sabbath
was not merely a command which passed away with the coming of Christ any more
than the rest of the Law. The Sabbath is
a moral command, not ceremonial (though most assume it is the latter). The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead was the pivot point at which we celebrate the new creation in Christ by
keeping the Sabbath now on the first day of the week instead of the last day.
I
realize that many Christians dispute that the Lord’s Day retains any force of
command. Those Christians likely resist
God’s other moral commands which Christ Himself reinforced. But scripture clearly shows us that this one
day in seven belongs to the Lord. It is
a day set aside for rest, yes, but also supremely for worshipping the triune
God of the Bible. If we are resisting
the idea of giving one day to worship and rest, we are resisting God’s will and
the remainder of what I will say here will make no difference. God is not asking us for some pharisaical
obedience – He wants the day to be one in which we delight in Him (Isaiah
58:13).
Once a
believer can grasp the joyful significance of the Sabbath and its blessings
which come from submission, worship, rest, and renewal, then we can turn to
look at the other days of the week. As
we do so, we first ought to jettison the “5 (grudgingly) for them, 2 for me”
way of looking at our week. A Christian
view of a week ought to be more like “1 for worship for the Lord, 6 for work
for the Lord, myself, and others”. In
other words, we must approach each day as one which is entrusted to us from God
so that we may glorify Him (see also Matthew 25:14-30).
I
cannot do justice to the Christian concept of work in this space. Thankfully others have written ably on the
topic (cf. Dorothy Sayer’s essay, “Why work?” or more recently Tim Keller, Every Good Endeavor). I would assert that most of us have a very
inadequate understanding of what ‘work’ ought to mean for a Christian, and also
what godly rest means for believers as well.
The secular notion of leisure is almost wholly self-absorbed, even when
done in the company of others. It is
promoted as respectable hedonism (ok, sometimes not so respectable).
We Christians need to sit down long
enough (shabat?), put aside the
laptop and smart phone, turn off the TV and any other source of distraction, and
examine ourselves and our usage of time.
Are we using our time as if it belongs to us instead of to the
Lord? Are we really working as unto the
Lord in all areas of life? I’m not saying
that leisure is evil – but have we made an idol of leisure in our lives? Go ahead, start spinning the rationalizations
for why your leisure endeavors are all acceptable. Are they sounding hollow? Are we willing to pray, “Lord, show me if any
of my work or leisure pursuits are not honoring to you, and then give me grace
to change how I live accordingly”?
Until we view every day as
belonging to the Lord, we are not living with a biblical Christian conception
of time. All days as the Lord’s days,
though one particularly given to worship and rest. This is not punishment from God – that’s what
Satan would have us think. Submitting
all our days to our Lord to direct is the only way in which we can live them
not in drudgery but in delight. And our
ultimate rest will be not in worldly leisure or in one day a week. Our rest will come as we rest in the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
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