Busyness, Work, and Rest

    These days it seems that people are running around from one thing to the next; there is a large quantity of activities to be involved in. College students seem to be one of the prime examples of this busyness. What drives this busyness? Why are people involved in many different extra-curricular activities? The top reasons are lack of dependence on God and the desire for glory for oneself. From a young age, achievement and the type of job someone will have when they are older are emphasized. They are encouraged by a variety of people (parents, teachers, relatives, etc.) that they should attempt to get a career where they will be well-off financially. This sort of attitude is wrong. Instead, we should strive to follow the guidelines for work that God laid out for us in the Bible. According to God’s Word, we should view work as a means of glorifying God and serving others with the talents and abilities that he has given to us. It is not about obtaining a job that will provide the means for us to live. Instead, we should trust in God to provide our needs. When we try to control life ourselves, we are doing a poor job of trusting God. Instead, we ought to commit our lives to our Lord and ask Him what job he would have us to do. The overarching theme in all of this is that we be faithful to God by obeying his commands. One of the commands that God has given us is that we observe the Sabbath- one day to just rest and reflect on Him. Examining my own life, it seems that I have some revising to do. Inwardly, I do think these things are important; applying them to my own life is the difficult part. I can certainly do better with observing the Sabbath for the whole day (not just in the morning). I also need to revise my thinking about studying. Currently, I have been doing my schoolwork with the intention of gaining honor for myself. I am sure that God’s approach to work (including homework) will be more beneficial for me.