Review - Take The Day Off: Receiving God’s Gift of Rest by Robert Morris
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Which day is the Sabbath, Sunday or Saturday? What are the Jewish Sabbath rules? What's a Jewish sabbatical year? Is the Sabbath mentioned in the new testament?
I didn’t have time to read this book but I MADE myself do it anyway, and I’m so glad I did. Here’s the backstory on that. (Clears throat nervously.) My name’s Tattie and I’m a workaholic. I’ve been a workaholic for many years now, sometimes working sixteen to eighteen hours a day when I’m jazzed up about a big project, and I often wake up and go to sleep thinking about work.
I also have times when I find myself thinking about work related problems when I’m supposed to be engaging in conversation with others or watching movies during family movie night.
Despite this, I consider myself lazy and I’m afraid for anyone to know about my less than stellar productivity days. I get out of the bed before anyone else in the family and I still feel guilty when someone does more housework than me. My favorite saying I used to give my writing partner on an almost daily basis was “Be Productive!” Meaning, get things done, don’t just be busy.
I’ve read LOTS of books on how to get more done in less time and I’m a master at scheduling, planning, and to-do lists.
I knew I had a problem when I tried to slow down and realized I didn’t know HOW to rest. I just couldn’t. Sit. Still.
Now, before you run away thinking this book review isn’t for you because you’re not a neurotic workaholic like I am, let me tell you a little bit about the book.
Take The Day Off by Robert Morris
Take the Day Off by Robert Morris is about so much more than just giving ourselves some “me time.” It’s a Biblical approach to rest and Sabbath. At one time I got hung up on which day the Sabbath should be, Saturday or Sunday. Should it start in the evening or the morning, or does it begin at 12:00am? What should I do, and more importantly, not do on the Sabbath? What is a Jewish Sabbath like? Wasn’t the command to rest on the Sabbath an Old Testament thing? (I had a preacher tell me that a few years ago and honestly, it really threw me off track.)
Is the Sabbath Mentioned in the New Testament?
This book gives very specific examples in the Bible of why we should rest one day a week. Not just in Exodus, either. In fact, each time I thought there wasn’t anything more the author could possibly bring up in scripture about rest he’d throw something new for me to ponder. I really liked that about the book, that it wasn’t just one person’s opinion, but why they believed the way they did. The author writes, “The very real truth that law keeping does not and cannot save us, does not negate the wisdom embedded in the Ten Commandments.”
Which Day is the True Sabbath, Sunday or Saturday?
Spoiler alert: The author believes that everyone should rest one day a week but he doesn't believe it matters which day. Sometimes his Sabbath changes from week to week. He also says, “Millions of believers take days off and experience no refreshing at all. A day off isn’t necessarily a Sabbath.” I know I’ve spent a lot of Sundays where I didn’t work, yet I wasn’t at all rested up enough to face Monday.
He believes there are different types of rest we all need to “fill up our tanks.” This is not a selfish thing because when we’re running on empty we’re not able to be the Christians we need to be for others.
What Are the Jewish Sabbath Rules?
Ever wonder what Jewish people do for the Sabbath? This book goes into detail about some of the specific things done to obey the letter of the law. Everything from elevators that don’t operate on the Sabbath to special refrigerators with timers on the lights so they won’t operate on Saturdays.
What’s a Jewish Sabbatical Year?
I found this part of the book quite interesting. A Jewish sabbatical year is called shmita, which occurs every seventh year. This is the year the land must rest and no planting is done. Even the animals that usually work the land get a rest. The year before shmita is a bounty harvest, enough to last until the next harvest. It’s an act of faith not to plant or work the land for a whole year.
The book also cited several other books about rest. Until I did a search I had no idea just how many books about rest there were on the market today. Not getting the rest we need must be a BIG problem if there are that many people writing full books about it.
Another thing the book did was to bring me closer to a right relationship with God. We can get too busy to hear God talking to us, which is one of the reasons we need a weekly Sabbath rest day. But what surprised me more was the author’s belief that keeping the Sabbath is an act of faith. Just like tithing ten percent of your earnings is an act of faith that you’ll have enough money, giving up work for a weekly rest is an act of faith that the work from the other six days will be enough to get everything done. This was shown beautifully with examples from businesses that choose not to open their doors on the Sabbath.
According to Amazon, this book was 238 pages and it wasn’t too long or too short. By the end I was ready to implement the strategies the author had given me and convinced me of. It was well edited and stayed interesting because of the real-world examples. If you’ve ever wondered about any of the questions above, feel out of touch with God, burned out, worn out, or suffer from guilt when you try to rest, read this book. Even if you already have solid ideas about what the Sabbath should be, I suggest reading this book to see if there’s any ideas you’ve missed.
I was already contemplating taking Sundays off when this book came up as a bargain find. (God must have wanted me to read it.) I’ve had no contact with the author or publisher and purchased my own copy for review.
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