Sorry, I'm Closed
So….this blog is the second installment of the discussion that we began last week, in which I explored the value of sleep, and the critical role it plays in lasting success. In case you were not able to read it, you can check it out here.
In that piece I pointed out that while sleep and rest are not synonymous, both are important and most of us don’t get enough of either! But as important as sleep may be, rest may be even more important. I say that because while the scripture says in Psalm 121:4 that God never slumbers nor sleeps, the scripture also says that God rested. After God completed the creation of the cosmos, Genesis 2:2 informs us that
….on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Rest is so important that even God rested! Rest is so important that it is included as one of the 10 Commandments that God gave Moses to regulate the affairs of his chosen people. Exodus 20: 8-13 declares:
Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
As one writer once observed, we don’t break the ten commandments as much as we break ourselves against the ten commandments. And that is most certainly the case when it comes to a lack of rest. To rest means to “desist from exertion,” or to “sit still.” The basic idea is to do nothing!
Both of my parents were born in the South. Every summer until I was 13, our family would pile into my Dad's car and make the nearly 700 mile journey from Freeport, New York to South Carolina. Once you leave New York and enter New Jersey, you begin to hit long stretches of barren highway, and the distances between the exits become increasingly longer. That's also when the "Rest Area” signs begin to appear. My favorite game as we rolled down the highway was to note the distance between the signs, and then calculate the average distance per sign variance rate by state. Yes, I know, that's pretty nerdy. But to a kid stuck in car in the pre-Nintendo switch era on a trip that seemed endless, it was the best way I could find of entertaining myself.
One of the accidental accidental lessons I learned during those annual excursions was just how essential rest is.. Whoever designed the highways understood that the longer the journey, the more rest is required. We are not made for incessant activity, constant productivity, and unlimited availability. Without proper rest, a crash is inevitable. There is a growing body of research that confirms the wisdom that God codified in the 10 commandments. Rest does not limit your productivity. To the contrary, it enhances it!
Perhaps the most striking example of the significance of rest comes from the world of business. Almost everyone has visited Chick Fil-A. If you haven’t shame on you! LOL. You must go. Just make sure that you don’t plan to go on a Sunday. Why? Because they are closed! Ever since Chick Fil-A was started in 1946 , it has adhered to a policy initiated by its founder Truett Cathy to be closed on Sundays—which is almost heresy in the fast food industry. But although Chick Fil-A is closed on Sundays, and has far fewer restaurants that most of its competitors, Chick Fil-A makes more money per restaurant than McDonalds, Starbucks, and Subway COMBINED. And I should probably mention that Mr. Truett was a Christian. He taught Sunday School at the church he attended until his death. It seems that rest is not only biblical. Rest is also good for business.
We all should take a page from Chick Fil A’s book. At least one day a week, you need to close up shop and rest. At least one day a week, you need to turn off your phone. At least one day a week, you need to be completely unavailable. At least one day a week, you need to rest.
We all must get comfortable telling people “I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I’m closed today.”