Many businesses operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.
Manufacturers keep factories running.
Places of entertainment — like Disney or Universal entities — operate every day including major holidays.
There is little time for rest. Even when people have the weekend off, many are rushing around doing personal errands and working around the house, among other things.
And if they are not doing chores, they are rushing around finding ways to entertain themselves.
In this third, final article on Sabbath rest, I invite your continued reflection on how much you engage in working, how much you engage in recreation, how much your mind is occupied by entertainment or matters that cause great stress as compared to resting and re-creating.
When do you rest — besides when you sleep? When do you intentionally rejuvenate your body, mind and soul to prepare for the days ahead? When do you focus your attention on God?
God created the Sabbath as one day a week set aside to recharge our body, mind and soul.
Many religious traditions now have Sunday, the first day of the week, as the Sabbath. This recognizes Christians starting the week with the celebration of our Lord rising from the dead on the first day of the week.
When you realize that the Sabbath — the day God declared as holy — is the first day of the week, not the last, it provides a different focus. It means that the week begins with our focus on God and his presence in our lives.
It means we give God the best part of the week, rather than the last part of the week when we collapse and give God what is left over. The week starts with a time of renewal, of rest, of reflection.
We keep the Sabbath holy by attending places of worship with fellow Christians also seeking restoration for their souls.
We do this by setting aside the labors and problems of the previous week.
We do this by focusing our attention on our Lord who created us, loves us and strengthens us for all things.
We do this by setting aside our worldly cares so we can delight in worshiping God, giving him our undivided attention during the day.
God rested from his labors on the Sabbath. Jesus rested from his labors on the Sabbath. Who are we to do otherwise?
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Give God the best part of your week