Pastor’s Pen 

A psychiatrist I read insists that Protestants suffer more heart attacks and nervous breakdowns than members of other religious groups. “It’s your work ethic”, he says. Work, work, work, that’s all you people do. You don’t know how to relax. 

Maybe he has a point. For some people relaxing and having fun poses a problem. Brought up to believe that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, we feel guilty about loafing. I’ve caught myself apologizing for taking a couple of hours off in an afternoon, even though I’ve worked all morning and will have my evening meetings run late into the night. I once even heard a pastor urge his congregation to attend a church picnic for a host of profound theological reasons. And to be honest, his reasons were sound. But I remember thinking to myself, “couldn’t I attend the picnic just to have a good time, see some friends, enjoy the food, and get out of cleaning the garage?” 

Even our play must serve a purpose. Can we play golf without keeping score, or play tennis for the “love” of the game? There must always be a “redeeming” value. We must better our score, network business connections, reduce our waistline, show up our peers or something. 

Martin Luther, who had a generous waistline, had a refreshingly different perspective on leisure. In 1530 he wrote his friend Melanchton, “We worship God also when we rest and relax; there is no greater worship of God than this!”  

Scripture tells us God works and we reflect God in our work. Work is not the result of the fall, Adam & Eve worked in paradise. And we are called by the cultural mandate to work. So work hard, do it well, recognizing that we are serving God in our work. But also remember that we are also called to the Sabbath’s rest and to the Year of Jubilee. When we rest and relax, we cast the cares of the world upon the sturdy shoulders of the Almighty. To play and picnic for no reason other than to play and picnic for the glory of God, is an acknowledgement that God is in charge, not us, and that He is capable of managing the affairs of the universe and of bringing His kingdom to fruition without our assistance.   

Lazy – No / Rested – Yes.

Enjoy the summer.