The Sabbath Principle

I'm in my third week of a series of messages called Simplifying Your Life. I have just had some quasi-ideas as I went into the series. As I look around I see that most people are busy. Somewhere in their heart they know something is wrong, that the torrid pace of their life is doing irreparable damage to their souls. But most people are at a complete loss as to what to do to correct the problem.

I talked the first week about the need for us to move towards Simple Devotion, which is never to be confused with easy, that we need to allow God and His Word room in our lives. Last week, I spoke from Hebrews 12:1 and how we are to "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles," The principle is that there are both good and bad things that clutter our lives that we need to rid ourselves of. This week I think I ran into the key principle of the whole thing.

The fourth commandment in the ten commandments states:

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

This command in North America is pretty well disregarded by all. And we are reaping what we have sown. We are a stressed, overworked, unfulfilled and busy generation. God has said to us, "Have it your way! Don't take a break, work and leisure yourselves until the cows come home (I don't know if God would say that phrase)and see what happens"

Well, I'll tell you what will happen. Our lives and society paint a picture of what happens when you disregard God's rules and boundaries.

I'm still working out the details of what the Sabbath principle will look like in my life, but this one thing I know, this is the key principle if I want to simplify my life.

Simplicity

Found this comic as I was beginning a new sermon series on Simplifying Your Life. I wish I would have tried this in high school.