by Justin Morton
This coming Monday is Labor Day. Did you know Oregon was the first state to pass a law recognizing Labor Day? This took place on February 21, 1887. It would be another 7 years, in June of 1894, before President Grover Cleveland would sign a law making the first Monday in September a legal holiday.[1]
I have always found this holiday interesting, especially given it’s name. For example, it’s called “Labor Day” and yet, many of us are given the day off from our day to day “labor.” It would seem the name of this holiday is misleading or simply just incorrect. But did you know, that Labor Day came about because workers “felt they were spending too many hours and days on the job?”[2]
Isn’t that interesting? A Law was signed because workers were spending too much time working. And while we have a national holiday to remind us to take a break, many of us still struggle when it comes to taking time to rest. We go and go and push ourselves, sometimes past the point of exhaustion, because staying busy has become a badge of honor in our society.
From the beginning of the Bible, we see the importance of rest on display. God demonstrated such importance at the end of creation, after God saw that everything He had made was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Moses records, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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” (Gen. 2:1-3).
When Moses was given the Law, we see the importance of rest demonstrated once again. The 4th commandment of the 10 given was, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates” (Exo. 20:8-10).
And then there is Jesus. Throughout His ministry we see Him demonstrating the importance of rest. It was not uncommon for Him to slow down, take time to be alone and rest (Mark 6:30-32). If Jesus, the divine Son of God needed to stop and rest, what makes us think we are any different?
Maybe you are running on empty and feel worn out and exhausted. If so, consider the teachings of scripture and the example of Jesus. It may be time to give yourself a break.
[1] https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history
[2] https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2023-09-01/have-we-forgotten-the-true-meaning-of-labor-day