I'm back to the series on anger which I began a few weeks ago. So far, we have seen that anger is an emotion which, if properly channeled can be constructive. If improperly channeled, it can get us into a lot of trouble. We also saw that anger has underlying causes, and we have already touched on two of them: 1. Fear 2. Frustration. In this post I'll deal with the third cause on my list, which is Exhaustion.
We live in a world that is becoming increasingly tiring. Work, family and social activities leave us very little time for ourselves. We can organize as best we can, if we don't make time to rest, we will become frazzled and begin snapping at our children and those around us. This matter of rest is so important that God commands us to rest. "Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest : that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed" (Exodus 23: 12). Not only are we to rest, but even our animals and everyone who is in our house.
God takes it even further in the book of Leviticus when he declares rest for the land. "But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard" (25: 4). Fast forward to the New Testament and we see that even Jesus made time to rest and relax. "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat( Mark 6: 31).
Long ago, before it became so common for doctors to give a pill for everything, we were ordered to rest: mentally and physically. Nowadays, when we take a vacation we cram it with daily and nightly activities and return home more exhausted than when we left. Can we learn to take some time off and do nothing? Sit or lie by a lake, close our eyes and let the world go away, as the old song said. Try it sometime. Your body and mind will thank you for it.
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