It's all about saving lives...

I've always been a little puzzled by that story in the first few verses of 1 Samuel 21 - the part where David is running for his life, pursued by a rival who wants to kill him, and he apparently tells a "pack of lies" to a priest in order to get food and a weapon.

It's not so much the story itself that surprises me, but rather the way that Jesus refers to this incident in the first eight verses of Matthew chapter 12. Rather than condemning David for this subterfuge, Jesus seems to mention it as something okay when He is talking to the Pharisees about how His own disciples had picked and eaten a few heads of grain on the Sabbath day. Jesus wasn't saying that a need justifies a crime: He wasn't saying that it's okay to lie and steal if you're hungry.  What He wanted the Pharisees to understand was that God gave the Law, including the law about the Sabbath for man's good, and not to make things harder for people. Jesus was speaking against legalism. (Jesus wasn't excusing David's lying; he was only excusing the fact that he ate some consecrated bread.)

He could have simply said, "Look, guys, the Law says not to work on the Sabbath. Picking and eating a few grains of wheat isn't exactly work!" Instead, Jesus broadened the principle by mentioning what happened with David. Probably the law about consecrated bread was given so that the priests had food to eat, and other opportunists didn't just go in and help themselves. But if a priest chose to give some of his bread to a person in need, that wasn't a problem - as long as the person wasn't "unclean" according to their religious guidelines. Jesus was saying that God gave us laws and commandments for our own benefit, and not to cause us hardship. It's easy for people to lose sight of that nowadays. I can remember, about ten years ago, observing a discussion among some trainee youth workers, with some of the team members objecting that "The Ten Commandments" weren't appropriate teaching material for a youth camp because the commandments were "too oppressive" for today's young people and it wasn't right to focus on "the law." The group made a decision to work with different topics instead, but I remember feeling sad that these young staff, leaders of the next generation, were unable to see the ten commandments as a reflection of God's loving care for us. They felt fine about seeing God as our Saviour and Friend, but they were rejecting the concept of God as a Lawgiver and Judge.

Maybe their response was a reaction against the opposite trend - the legalism that has been so prevalent in some church traditions. That's what the Pharisees were doing: instead of seeing God's Law as an expression of His concern for our wellbeing, they were burdening people with more and more "extra" little laws to keep them in line. Likewise, generations of Christians throughout the ages haven't always realised that God's law and God's love for us are inextricably linked.

Many who watched the award winning movie, "Chariots of Fire," admired Olympic runner Eric Liddle for taking a stand and refusing to compete on a Sunday. Too few people are willing to stand up for what they believe in nowadays. But what about that little scene near the beginning of the film, where parents reprimanded little boys for having fun and kicking a football around after church? Was that really what God had in mind when He told us to work only six days out of seven? Nowadays it wouldn't be shocking for believers to relax on their free day by taking a long hike in the mountains and enjoying God's creation. But the Pharisees had legislated exactly how many kilometres you were allowed to walk before it constituted "work."  If they'd been around today, perhaps it would be illegal to walk the dog on the Sabbath. Their legalism was becoming ridiculous; that's why Jesus pointed out that you wouldn't leave your animal to die in a pit on the Sabbath, just because it would be hard work to pull it out. That's why emergency surgeons and lifeboat rescue services don't shut down shop on a Sunday. They're there to save lives - just like Jesus Himself sometimes healed people on the Sabbath.

But this doesn't mean that we can simply discard the sabbath principle in the twenty first century. The Sabbath is still for saving lives: it saves them by reminding us to get enough rest and not work ourselves to death. Yes, the sabbath principle is perhaps more important than ever in our fast paced world. (And yet, it seems that the idea of sabbath is a controversial one for some people today; I got several comments and emails after writing my blog posting about sabbath rest last autumn. Click here to read that post.) 

In fact, all of the ten commandments are still important for us today - despite the fact that the masses believe, "Do not commit adultery" is outdated, or that "Do not kill," doesn't refer to the unborn child in the womb. Something will be deeply changed in our attitude  towards God's laws and instructions when we truly have revelation that they are all for our own good; it's all about saving our lives!

Getting on my soapbox...

One week after arriving back in Europe, I'm starting to feel much better again. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my pneumonia to clear up quickly. All I need now is for the deep chesty cough to stop once and for all. This morning, though, I'm climbing out of my bed and onto my soapbox to write about a subject that is very dear to my heart...

Among the kind words and emails of encouragement I received from people who were praying for my healing, two or three of them included a strange little thought that went something like this: "Maybe this illness is God's way of getting you to slow down and rest."  Am I over-reacting if I say that I find this philosophy a little disturbing?!

First of all, I believe with all my heart that the God I love and serve is the source of all good things (see James 1: 17.) He is not the source of sin or evil, sickness, pain or death. In fact, the Bible tells us that God's ultimate aim is to do away with these things forever.

Secondly, God doesn't need to send sickness as a way of reminding people that their bodies need rest. He already spelled that out clearly and unambiguously in the very first book of the Bible (see Genesis 2: 2 - 3) when He told us that even He Himself took time to rest after six days of creating the earth. And in case there could ever be any doubt about it, hundreds of years later, when He gave us the ten commandments (see Exodus 20: 8 - 11 or Deuteronomy 5: 12 - 15) God re-emphasised that the principle of Sabbath rest is one of the ways that we show our respect for God and for the physical body that He has given us to live in.

Sabbath! The word itself sounds sort of quaint and old fashioned to some people. We associate it with an old and restrictive religiosity, and think that we've moved beyond this type of belief in our modern world where supermarkets are open 24 hours and some businesses proudly boast that they are "here for you 365 days of the year."

But if the God who created the universe thought it was important to set time aside for rest, what on earth would make us imagine that we frail human beings no longer need to understand and live out the principle of sabbath rest? Sabbath isn't about making life difficult for us; it's about giving us quality of life and making a statement about the fact that our dependence is on God and not on our own efforts and self-reliance. That's why Jesus said very clearly (see Mark 2: 27) that the sabbath was made for man's good.

I feel deeply saddened when I meet Christians who feel that it is admirable or "spiritual" to be workaholics who are too busy all the time... as if their unceasing work is somehow an indicator of their devotion to God. I feel sad when I hear yet another story of a missionary who has had to go home from the mission field because he is in "burnout" and no longer physically or mentally well enough to serve in the place that God had called him to. My friends, this is NOT honouring to God; it's not an accurate testimony to a good and gracious God who calls us His friends and gives us the principle of sabbath rest so that we can continue to enjoy life and serve God with energy and enthusiasm.

In Deuteronomy 5: 15, we discover that sabbath rest is also one of God's ways of reminding His people that He has brought them out of slavery. Jesus said (in John 15: 15 - 16) that He doesn't call us His slaves; instead He calls us His friends, and He has chosen us to bear lots of good fruit for the kingdom of God. If we push our bodies or minds to breaking point, we are no longer able to continue bearing good fruit; we are putting ourselves into slavery (to our work) and the testimony of our lives suggests that God is a slave driver, instead of demonstrating to people that God is our friend and that He can be trusted to care and provide for us.

Think about it: if I choose to work non stop, instead of taking time for sabbath rest, what am I really saying? I'm suggesting that the outcome of my work depends on me, instead of on God. I'm living in a way that suggests it's all up to me, and that God isn't able to provide for me financially or bring good fruit from my work or ministry investment. That's the sin of self-reliance and it sounds just like a "Christianised" version of the rat race to me. (Actually, rats are often wiser than we are; they know how to rest.) Placing a high value on the principle of sabbath rest is not only a basic expression of obedience to God; it's also my way of saying that I am trusting God for the outcome of my life and my work, both now and in the future.

I don't know about you, but I want my life to be a testimony to others that God is good. I want other people to be able to notice in my life that God's presence is with me. Check out Exodus 33: 14. When God promised that His presence would go with Moses and the people of Israel, what did He say would be the proof of that? Rest! He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." On the other hand, when you read Hebrews chapter 4, some very strong words are written there about the failure and disobedience of God's people. And how did they fail Him so badly? They failed to enter into God's rest.

So how do we do it? In our fast paced world of the twenty first century, how do we live lives that exemplify and benefit from the sabbath rest of God? Probably it's no longer about deciding not to cook on the Lord's day; it no longer takes three hours work for us to prepare lunch, like it did in Bible times (unless perhaps you're in a village in the north of Senegal!!) Probably it's no longer fundamentally about whether shops open their doors every day or not. (Spain is perhaps one of the few nations where shops are still closed on Sundays.) But it's definitely about recognising that God knows best, and about living our lives in a way that demonstrates our dependence on Him and our commitment to prioritise the time that we need for rest, refuelling and restoring - physically, mentally and spiritually.

Valuing the principle of sabbath rest may look different for different people. But it begins with seeing our lives through God's eyes, understanding how He has made us, and choosing to live in a way that honours and trusts in His wisdom. If necessary, it's about allowing Him to renew our minds and change our thinking, so that we no longer believe that it's all up to us, or that it's somehow spiritual to be "busy with the Lord's work" every hour of the day and night. Sabbath rest is about getting enough sleep, getting enough rest from our work, setting time aside for relationship with God and with others. It's about recognising that "slowing down" regularly should be a godly choice, and not something that has to be imposed on us because of sickness or burnout. A lifelong commitment to God's principle of Sabbath rest is about choosing a lifestyle that trusts God and enjoys Him to the maximum. I've made my choice. What about you?