Another lesson we learn about work in Genesis 2 is the relationship of work and rest. God displays for us His great work, encouraging us in meaningful work, and He also displays for us the significance of rest.

While it is certainly the case that mankind neglects work and is blind to the great significance of work, it is also the case that we often are utterly blind to the needfulness and goodness of rest.

So many Christians in the church are encouraged to go go go, and do some work for God, seeing activity as this “good works”, who are not given time, space, and discipline in order to truly learn the Spirit of God’s will in works. They are also not given permission for true rest and health. Because many will assume they value work, and they preach it, but they do not understand the right depth and purpose of work from God, nor the time needed to be sanctified to this, and equally, they can run people ragged, having no proper understanding of health and rest.

God’s work is supposed to be healthy, not breaking our health. And many Christians have done much harm to the image of God by acting as if God wants to run us into breakdown and brokenness.

There is a very real spiritual fight in our day to understand godly work rightly, to walk in our responsibility, and yet to also rescue right rest. Instead, many simply obey the spiritual pressures to work themselves ragged, and do not resist, seeking to know the true will of God in rest.

We think idleness is our only sin, and even this “sin” we do not know how to properly cure. We substitute the doing of the true will of God for activity and busyness. And with this, we do not rightly hold and display true godly rest. Whereas our lack of rest often reveals the pride and foolishness in us. How we do not rightly know God, nor resist the spiritual pressures that exist in our day, but instead obey them.

Wisdom shows us that it is not just idleness that is an issue, but a busyness that is not rooted in the true will of God. And additionally, that it was not the challenge of getting Israel to work, but to get them to stop working and keep the Sabbath that was the real issue. That they were very busy with many things, and yet they were not doing the true work of God’s will and law, nor resting on the Sabbath.

We have great need in the church today to understand our true work rightly, and to do this. And at the same time, we have great need of understanding right godly rest. A rest that is not rooted in an idleness of our true work, and corrupted “grace”, but is a work that is healthy and good, accompanying our godly work.