No Rest for the Weary

I’m sleepy today. Our neighbors have a dog that LOVES to bark until after midnight, and the crows begin their screeching at about 5:00 a.m. When you sleep with the windows open, this presents a bit of a problem.

I’m sure I am not the only one out there who is falls asleep at their desk from time to time. Of course, as a minister, I have a built in excuse: “I was praying.” (I know – that’s bad.) But to those of you who don’t have the built in excuse, here are some great excuses if your boss catches you asleep at your desk:
• They told me at the blood bank that this might happen.
• This is just a 15-minute power nap like they raved about in that time management course you sent me to.
• I was working smarter - not harder.
• Whew! I must have left the top off my sharpie.
• I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!
• This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!
• I was testing the keyboard for drool resistance.
• I’m in the management training program.
• I’m actually doing a Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan (SLEEP).
• This is in exchange for the six hours last night when I dreamed about work!
• The coffee machine is broken.
• Someone must have put decaf in the wrong pot.
• Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won’t wear off.
• Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic!
• The mail courier flipped out and pulled a gun so I was playing dead to avoid getting shot.

What’s the point of all this? Our bodies need rest. God created the Sabbath for us to rest. Jesus said "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.(Mark 2:27)” In other words, God in his infinite wisdom knew we would need rest. I know we do not observe the Sabbath as Christians, but I believe the spirit of the Sabbath remains.

We need to take care of ourselves and not get so caught up in work and other things that we never rest. The wise words of Solomon would be good for us to remember: “What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. (Eccl. 2:22-24)”