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Phones, beepers, fax machines, e-mail—these days, work follows you home! There's always one more project, one more phone call, one more important contact to make. But work isn't all there is to life. We all try to balance out work with the rest of life: exercise, housework, grocery shopping, laundry. And those with families have an even more complicated juggling act, combining diapers, Little League, homework, and special nights out with all those other responsibilities.

Whew! With all that to do, how can you possibly justify taking a day off to picnic with the kids, soak in a bubble bath, or have a date with your spouse?

It's helpful to know that both work and "free time" are important to God. In his laws, God affirmed the importance of work to the Israelites. As a matter of fact, he told them to work six days every week! But that's not all. One of God's sacred decrees was that his people take every seventh day off to rest, celebrate, and relax. As a matter of fact, rest is so important to God that he even ordered the Israelites to give their animals and fields time off. Today's culture may push you to work until you drop, but that isn't God's command. In Exodus 23, he says that work, worship, and family recreation are all important to him—and that you must not neglect them. (See also Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 2 Samuel 1; Matthew 14:22-23.)

Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest. Exodus 23:12

How can you better incorporate rest and fun into your busy life?

Copyright 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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