Sabbath and Justice

When God gave the 10 Commandments, one of them was about resting. There’s a lot in scripture about resting, and often it’s equated with trusting God, with respecting our own limits, and with enjoying the goodness of creation.

There’s another side to resting in scripture that we often don’t focus on. In those same 10 Commandments, God clarifies that part of the way that the Beloved Community is supposed to work is to make sure that those who are on the margins of the community have enough provision so that they can rest, too. Listen in to these words:

The seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. - Deuteronomy 5:14

Note that the immigrant and the servants (notice that is specifically included female servants, the lowest of the low) are included in who is commanded to rest. And the command to make sure they can rest is not given directly to them, but to those who have the economic privilege of employing them. It seems that God is not just about our self-care, but also about those with the privilege to make sure that there’s ample space and time and provision so that those with fewer resources can care for themselves. Essentially, this is an anti-oppression commandment: don’t work people so hard that they can’t rest.

What might that look like in our world today? Sure, it might apply easily if you are a business owner. But what if you’re a teacher, or what if you’re retired, or what if you are an electrician? There’s probably not a one-size-fits-all answer here, but don’t think for a moment that the Spirit doesn’t want to expand your capacity to love people in this way.

Take a minute and ask God to help you sort this out. Do you need God to advocate for you so that you might be provided for and thus have time to rest? Could the Spirit somehow be directing you in enabling others to rest? Is there something else being whispered to your heart?