Rest

I suppose that in this current age most of us probably work more than we do rest. You really don’t have to believe my words. You can visit the website for the United States Department of labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and I am sure you can find most of the stats relevant to who is working and who isn’t in extreme details. If you wish to visit the site it is found in the following link:

http://www.bls.gov/

One thing I can say about the previous website is that it is very informative with relevance to the subject of labor.

Now, the Unemployment Rate for the United States in June 2012 was 8.2%; consequently, if you do the simple math, this means that 91.8% of the labor force must be employed or working. One of the facts I learned early on when it comes to work is that when you work too much you tend to get tired. Moreover, if you work too much or too many consecutive days in a row, you will probably need to rest or to take a vacation. Rest is very good because it helps one recharge their batteries to perhaps continue back at the pace needed to be productive. Of course, the previous thought is not always true because many times people could be suffering from a severe illness and really need medical attention to heal if possible.

In the United States, things like vacations and sick leave fall under employee benefits. And, employee benefits in the United States in March 2012 were as follows:

"Paid leave benefits followed a similar pattern. The difference was more pronounced in the availability of paid sick leave, which was offered to 52 percent of workers in small establishments and 82 percent in large establishments. Paid holidays and paid vacation were available to 69 percent of workers in small establishments and 91 and 90 percent, respectively, to workers in large establishments (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf).”

Perhaps, all of the foregoing data is not really necessary for the message I am trying to convey in this posting; however, information really doesn’t hurt when one is attempting to make a case…. So, really what I want to say is that rest is extremely important and even more in the Holy Scriptures, so we should take it very serious. I only wish to provide a couple of Scriptural verse that confirms what I am trying to say. The very first verses I will include are found in Genesis 2:2-3 which read:

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation (ESV Bible).”

The second verses that I will include are found in Mathew 11:28-30 in which Jesus is speaking about rest. The verses read as follows:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (ESV Bible)."

In closing, what I want to say is that rest is very important in the Scriptures, so don’t take it lightly, and don’t work too hard, take a break whenever possible. Also, I would pay close attention to the words of Jesus because it appears that the type of rest he is talking about is very important.



References:

ESV Bible

http://www.bls.gov/