Thoughts for this Sunday: Don't Let the Weekend Be a Break from God
The weekend represents a "break" for many of us. Don't let the weekend be a break from God. Now, you're probably not planning to take a break from God, but here's what can happen.
Some of us can't wait for the weekend to arrive, not just because we get a break from work, but because it represents enjoyment and pleasure. We've got something planned "just for us."
When you think of a weekend like this, it can be a problem. It's not that pleasure's bad in itself, or that enjoying time off and doing fun things is bad in itself. But seeking enjoyment and pleasure can keep us away from God. Seeking enjoyment and pleasure - especially when we're thinking about it all week at some boring or slavish job - comes to dominate our thoughts and actions.
It's the seeking that's the problem, not the enjoyment or pleasure itself. Seeking easily becomes a kind of anxious desire. Anxious desire, an enemy of peace of soul, takes us farther away from God. We need peace in our minds and hearts and souls to really get close to God. Anxiety becomes a buffer.
And so the weekend ultimately gets in the way. It becomes a distraction, even an obstacle to our growing closer to God - the real source of our joy and happiness. Really, can you think of anything you've got planned for this weekend that's better than this?
Sometimes I find myself seeking enjoyment or pleasure on the weekend. Maybe I'm going out with some friends for a great meal. But the more I think about this ahead of time, the less I wind up enjoying it. I enjoy going out more when I just go and expect nothing in particular. The food and wine tastes better, the company is more enjoyable. If I build it up beforehand, the experience always disappoints.
During the week, I try to remind myself to just stick to my work and not think about the weekend. Just work hard and do my best. If I'm especially tired, relief always comes eventually. I don't need to be pining for the weekend. (It's not like I'm some saint like Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, who's feast we celebrated a week ago Saturday. She died at 38, exhausted by her work, her efforts to work for God's glory. I'm never that tired!)
So now it's Sunday. God's given me rest and enjoyment already - even though I did have to do some work yesterday - and a whole day of rest and recreation lies before me. By God's grace, I feel some sense of peace. In my peace of soul I'm not thinking at all about enjoying myself - but I am. And in that peaceful state, I can more easily think about the coming week, the challenges I'll face, most of all the idea we've been talking about lately - living my Faith without compromise. More specifically: working for the greater glory of God - without compromise. And all of it flows easily, without any anxiety, in the midst of the natural rest and relaxation of the Lord's Day.
The weekend's good. It's not the problem it once was when I used to think about it all week, when I used to plan to enjoy myself, to seek enjoyment and pleasure. This weekend is a gift from God that came with some enjoyment, some pleasure, and a basic sense of peace. Deo Gratias!
And this week, I will do my utmost to live my Faith without compromise, and also without any anxiety, taking things as they come my way, trusting in God.
By God's grace, that's what I'll do.
Some of us can't wait for the weekend to arrive, not just because we get a break from work, but because it represents enjoyment and pleasure. We've got something planned "just for us."
When you think of a weekend like this, it can be a problem. It's not that pleasure's bad in itself, or that enjoying time off and doing fun things is bad in itself. But seeking enjoyment and pleasure can keep us away from God. Seeking enjoyment and pleasure - especially when we're thinking about it all week at some boring or slavish job - comes to dominate our thoughts and actions.
It's the seeking that's the problem, not the enjoyment or pleasure itself. Seeking easily becomes a kind of anxious desire. Anxious desire, an enemy of peace of soul, takes us farther away from God. We need peace in our minds and hearts and souls to really get close to God. Anxiety becomes a buffer.
And so the weekend ultimately gets in the way. It becomes a distraction, even an obstacle to our growing closer to God - the real source of our joy and happiness. Really, can you think of anything you've got planned for this weekend that's better than this?
Sometimes I find myself seeking enjoyment or pleasure on the weekend. Maybe I'm going out with some friends for a great meal. But the more I think about this ahead of time, the less I wind up enjoying it. I enjoy going out more when I just go and expect nothing in particular. The food and wine tastes better, the company is more enjoyable. If I build it up beforehand, the experience always disappoints.
During the week, I try to remind myself to just stick to my work and not think about the weekend. Just work hard and do my best. If I'm especially tired, relief always comes eventually. I don't need to be pining for the weekend. (It's not like I'm some saint like Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, who's feast we celebrated a week ago Saturday. She died at 38, exhausted by her work, her efforts to work for God's glory. I'm never that tired!)
So now it's Sunday. God's given me rest and enjoyment already - even though I did have to do some work yesterday - and a whole day of rest and recreation lies before me. By God's grace, I feel some sense of peace. In my peace of soul I'm not thinking at all about enjoying myself - but I am. And in that peaceful state, I can more easily think about the coming week, the challenges I'll face, most of all the idea we've been talking about lately - living my Faith without compromise. More specifically: working for the greater glory of God - without compromise. And all of it flows easily, without any anxiety, in the midst of the natural rest and relaxation of the Lord's Day.
The weekend's good. It's not the problem it once was when I used to think about it all week, when I used to plan to enjoy myself, to seek enjoyment and pleasure. This weekend is a gift from God that came with some enjoyment, some pleasure, and a basic sense of peace. Deo Gratias!
And this week, I will do my utmost to live my Faith without compromise, and also without any anxiety, taking things as they come my way, trusting in God.
By God's grace, that's what I'll do.
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