“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” Mark 2:27
In last week’s post, I wrote about how leaders should stop, and take a sabbath. So, what are the implications?
What I have learned, and what can be true for you:
Resting reminds me that I am not indispensable. The world keeps moving, and so does our business. Thus, the second benefit of rest is its ability to produce humility in one’s soul. I am reliant on others for everything, and so are you.
Deeper, however, is rest’s ability to sharpen trust.
Perhaps I need to ask a question to explain this.
Why won’t I rest? Why did I refuse to take a week off lifting weights in 2018?
Why do others struggle to rest? For example, why does our sales team resist turning their phones off for a day?
Because, in this life, enough will never be enough.
Rest rips the band-aide off this reality, exposes the fool’s gold for what it is—foolish–and forces one to contemplate the sober reality that all their efforts will not produce enough.
Enough of what?
Anything!
And this is why – I won’t speak for you – I resist rest with every fiber in my being.
Pausing the chase for one second puts me two seconds behind.
And yet…
“On the seventh day he [God] rested from his work” (paraphrase) Genesis 2:2.
And it was good.
Here is the epiphany: Leaders that rest can truly lead because they trust God to provide, and others to thrive.
Leadership is no longer about their search for enough.
It is no longer about them.
It is about us.
And that’s why the organization benefits when the leader rests in this reality.
A final note to the skeptic, God worked six days out of seven. And then he rested. Get it?