My Least Favorite Question - R

Does everybody remember Alex from Target? I hope we as a people always remember how we literally made someone famous overnight for working and being handsome all at the same time. The guy went on Ellen for crying out loud. Anyway, my one claim to fame is that for a little over a year, I worked at the exact same Target store that Alex from Target worked at. So, by extension, I was basically on Ellen.

For over a year, I scanned item after item, watching people spend thousands of dollars before my very eyes. I memorized the 4-digit code for almost every single piece of produce we sold (bananas are 4011 if you're wondering), I spent hours putting packages of candy in neat rows in the checkout lanes, I removed approximately 12 metric tons of hangers from purchased articles of clothing, and I twiddled my thumbs more than one man ever has.

But there was one thing that I did every day, repeatedly, that forever changed my life.

"How are you?"

I greeted almost every customer with this question for over a year. I actually did the math here, and my estimate is that I asked this question around 36,000 times in my time at Target. And I'm sure you can imagine what might happen to a question when you ask it that many times.

It comes to mean absolutely nothing.

And that isn't solely the fault of the frequency of times asked, it's also in the predictability of the answer. When I asked this question, I would consistently get one of three answers: "good," (usually accompanied by the dead eyes that told me they were not, in fact, good) "busy," or, my personal favorite, "tired" (usually accompanied by the dead eyes that told me they were, in fact, tired).

We live in such an interesting time. Never before has it been so easy to do . . . well, anything really. Practically every innovation relates somehow to speed, convenience, or efficiency. Items are marketed to us boasting about how much time they'll save us. Wireless Internet providers preach faster download speeds. Smartphones claim to be the one-stop shop for all things convenience related.

You'd think with all the time we save on tasks that used to take exponentially larger amounts of time, we'd have a little more wiggle room in our schedules to prevent us from constantly reporting that we're either busy or tired. With how fast we can complete assignments, we should have sporadic pockets of unclaimed free time ready for us to use however we please.

Reality tells a different story.

Anxiety rates are climbing. Suicide rates are climbing. We're getting less and less sleep. We've made an idol of productivity. Idle hours, in our modern thinking, should be spent doing something productive. And if by some miracle we have managed to finish all of our pressing work, we'll just grasp around until we find something else to work on. We've forgotten how to stop. We've forgotten how to rest. We've forgotten the beautiful art of doing absolutely nothing.

When the Israelites embarrass themselves by making the Golden Calf in Exodus 32, God is livid. And who can blame him? They literally just committed as a people to following his commandments so that they could be his people. And Moses leaves for ten seconds, they get scared, make an idol, then get into big trouble. It is in the aftermath of this situation that we get what is, to me, one of the most terrifying and profound exchanges between God and his people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” - Exodus 33:1-3

This has the ring of someone completely giving up out of sheer frustration. The Israelites were understandably pretty freaked out. Luckily they had Moses to intercede.

Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” - Exodus 33:12-17

There's a lot of complex questions surrounding this passage that I very much do not want to try to tackle here. But there is something beautiful in its simplicity here that I think we miss a lot of the time. Israel is poised to enter the land that God promised to Abraham's descendants. They've been freed from the Egyptians with an incredible display of God's power in the ten plagues. God, to the Israelites at this time, is the God that fights the battles, the God of miracles, of power, of parting the Red Sea. So, when Moses is begging for God to stay with him and the Israelites, he's likely expecting his presence to be accompanied by power or victory or strength. As is usually the case.

Sometimes it's just as important to focus on what God doesn't say in the Bible. He doesn't say, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you power." He doesn't say "I will give you victory." He doesn't promise strength or dominance or wisdom.

"I will give you rest."

See, that's the thing about serving a God who brings strength and power and dominance. He fights all the battles that we can't. He brings the rain when we can't. He heals when we can't. He forgives when we can't forgive ourselves. And he gives us every reason to stop worrying when we won't. He meets every need we could possibly have.

When all has already been taken care of, all that's left to do . . . is rest.

God's fourth commandment to honor the Sabbath wasn't a mistake, and it certainly isn't out of date. We need it now more than ever. God specifically created us to be in a rhythm of work and rest, and we have become absolutely terrible at resting in any capacity. He gave us one day of the week to enjoy what he has created and to dwell in his presence. Now, of all times, is not when we should take that gift lightly.

I mentioned in my last post being terrified of the future. Still true, if you're wondering. But I have found through the practice of Sabbath this semester that it is much much harder to be anxious when rest is just as much of a priority in your life as work or school. Rest can look like many different things, including restored confidence in God's ability to work for the good. God's presence renews the heart. The intimacy that resting in him brings is like a complete recharge for the soul. Whatever your worry or concern, it's taken care of. Kick back. Rest. Abide.

To all you thinking that you can't take one day away from everything, I say you're wrong. Make rest a priority in the coming weeks. Find a way to step back from the hectic pace of life, and I promise you'll be blessed.

Let the words of Christ wash over you as you stop, breathe, and simply be present.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. - Matthew 11:28-30

And if that doesn't make you want to weep for joy, you're wrong.

~RJS~