The importance of physical rest and holidays as a Christian

Mark 6:31 "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" (KJV).

Someone once said to me years ago about this Bible verse with respect for the necessity of physical and mental rest: "If you do not come apart, you will come apart". Some people are workaholics and thankfully I am not one of them. I was a workaholic once, when I worked for a very pressured, yet successful corporation and I resolved when I became a Christian to never to become a workaholic again. Taking rest is essential for Christians, families, husbands, wives, and children. What I am talking about primarily in this blog post is appropriate holidays.

My primary aim in writing this blog a number of years ago was to "sow seeds" to move people in a more biblical and Reformed direction. This continues to be my primary aim. However, what has become ever more clear me to me in the succeeding years is that due to sin, it is hard for all of us to live balanced lives. For example excess "zeal without knowledge" (Romans 10:2) can lead any of us to holding imbalanced doctrines. Though we may hold to Calvinistic or confessional truth, this does not mean that we hold all truths with biblical balance or that we practice all truth with balance. We can easily and unknowingly be out of harmony with Scripture.

Taking holidays is part of the sabbath rest principle that is found in Scripture is therefore a good, wholesome and biblical practice. This kind of holiday I am mentioning is beyond the norm of the weekly Sabbath rest, especially for ministers because our Lord's Days can be very busy and simply having a day off during the week does not compensate for a proper holiday. Quite often for myself over the years, it takes me 5-6 days to fully unwind mentally when on holiday. If Jesus called his disciples to "come apart" may we ensure that we do not walk in disobedience by acting in a way beyond our master by failing to take appropriate rest. Someone also warned me years ago about the importance of "listening to your body".

Enjoy your holidays, take your Bible with you and some good wholesome Christian books as well, while enjoying nature, swimming and whatever else!