WORSHIP AND WORK                                                Isaiah 56:1-8

Blessed is the man who does this … keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it (v2)

(4) The fourth Commandment; Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:8-9) This commandment is the last and the longest in the first section of the Decalogue – the section that deals with man and his relationship to God. It is popularly believed that this fourth Commandment refers only to the Sabbath – but that is not so. Look at the second half of the Commandment which has to do with the remaining six days. The commandment consists of two simple injunctions: First, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,” and Second; “Six days you shall labour.” It is the will of God for us that we work, and it is also the will of God that on one day in seven, we focus our whole attention on  worship. Work and worship complement one another. The one who never works (this is more about attitude and not life circumstances when one is not able to work) is living an unbalanced life. When we follow this pattern we are restored and blessed. The two parts of the Commandment cannot be separated; they are to be seen as a whole. This is work life balance in perspective. Work makes for worship fits and tunes the whole being for work. (EDWJ)

PRAYER LINE: Father, help me understand these two important functions – worship and work. Help me balance the relationship of these two things so that I might get the best of my worship and also out of my work. In Jesus’ Name I ask it. Amen (EDWJ)

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Work makes for worship, and worship fits and tunes the whole being for work.