• Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Our Team
    • Wall of Support
    • Affiliates
  • Resources
  • Join our team
    • Open Positions
    • Write For Us
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Store
  • Contact
Joshua's Outpost
Support Us
Login
No Result
View All Result
JO
Support Us
Login
No Result
View All Result
Joshua's Outpost
No Result
View All Result

Don’t be a Slave to Productivity

Darryl Eyb by Darryl Eyb
November 13, 2019
in Culture, Faith
Reading Time: 3min read
4
Don’t be a Slave to Productivity

Productivity is one of the things our culture values above almost everything. When ‘time is money’ and ‘ the one with the most toys wins,’ sleep is so often sacrificed so we end up on top. I love the show NCIS. The main character, Gibbs, ‘practically mainlines coffee.’ But isn’t this reflective of real life? Isn’t caffeine our society’s drug of choice? And how does the pursuit of productivity at the expense of our own exhaustion affect our following Jesus?

There was about 6 months when I woke every morning on the sofa in the lounge room. Don’t worry, I hadn’t been fighting with my wife. Our 10 month old refused to sleep in her cot. Every night, I would spend several hours sleeping with her on the sofa. She tossed and turned. I woke up stiff, sore, and, well, tired. Again and again.

Sometimes exhaustion is like this – it’s out of our control. A friend of mine struggles with an autoimmune condition. It leaves her exhausted for days whenever she does too much. All you can do in these times is know God is with you and trust he is leading you through.

BadgeBut more often we wear our busyness, the tiredness we feel from our work or ministry, like badge of honour. Maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe the drive that compels us to keep going ignoring our need for rest is really a mark of spiritual weakness. What if rest is actually a healthy part of following Jesus?

Don’t be a Slave

As Moses reminds the people of God’s laws in Deuteronomy, he links the Sabbath with their slavery in Egypt. Their value was their productivity when they were in Egypt. As God rescues them and sets up a rest program, he effectively says ‘Your value is because you are my people, not because of how much you produce. Stop doing, and be with me.’

We aren’t in Egypt, but how often do we get enslaved to productivity? Don’t we get caught up in filling our diaries? Producing as much as possible? It seems like you’re expendable if you’re not productive. How much are value are you worth to your employers? Aren’t we constantly turning back to the slave keepers of busyness and productivity?

We are choosing slavery over freedom when we reject God’s gift of rest.

The Big Picture of Rest

Rest is one of those small words in the Bible that have a big meaning. God rested to conclude his work of creation and from there linked it with the Sabbath. But far more than being time off, when placed in the Exodus story, God set his people free so they could worship him (Ex. 3:18). So, true rest is worshipful.

Later, as the kingdom of Israel is established, rest is linked with shalom. Shalom isn’t merely the absence of fighting but has more to do with setting things right. So, rest has a restorative quality.

The writer of Hebrews says that the ‘rest’ the Old Testament searched for is only found in Jesus. In other words, the New Testament views rest in the light of salvation.

All of this is to say that rest is far greater than God’s version of a ‘nanny nap.’ Rest is God’s invitation to enter into the gospel through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension.

True rest leads us to realize God’s made us his child. It frees us to worships him from the struggle of our daily grind and empowers us to worship him in the midst of it too. And it can be a picture of how he restores the relationship with us and lead us to seek restoration in our world.

Who You Are or What You Do?

The battle that often rages inside between rest and busyness comes down to values. On one hand, if we seek to be as productive as possible and demand that in others; if we are striving to collect as many ‘toys’ along the way and comparing ourselves to others, then we are is dictated by what we do.

However, if we take our identity as followers of Jesus then surely this must dictate our actions. This means we’ll trust he’ll provide for us instead of striving after everything. We trade slavery for the freedom to worship him and bring his presence into every part of our daily life.

There may still be times of busyness with this second way. After all, Jesus was incredibly busy. However, Jesus never ceased to live out of his identity as the Son of God. In the midst of ministry, the crowds pushing in, and the looming cross Jesus intentionally took time out to be with the Father and spent celebrate with his followers.

The big question for you is what’s going to dictate your life, your identity in Jesus or the quest for productivity?

Join our mailing list and get a FREE Devotional plus 5% off on our Online Shop
We respect your privacy. No Spam Emails!

Darryl Eyb

I am a pastor, blogger and speaker. I help ordinary people connect with an extraordinary God, so they can follow Jesus in their everyday life.

darryleyb.net/
Like what we do? Take a second to support us on Patreon!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: BibleEgyptJesusMosesproductivityrestSabbathWork
Previous Post

The importance of a man’s word

Next Post

Take care of your strong friend

Next Post
Take care of your strong friend

Take care of your strong friend

Comments 4

  1. Pingback: Samsara Market Exit Scam
  2. Pingback: Cryptonia Market
  3. Pingback: Schoenenwinkel hengelo
  4. Pingback: market analysis firms

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 105 other subscribers

The Frontline Podcast

  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
  • Join our team
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Store
  • Contact

© 2021 Joshua's Outpost. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Write For Us
  • Store
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2021 Joshua's Outpost. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: