eat, drink, and enjoy life

"I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun." Ecclesiastes 8:15.
"A desert hunter saw Abba Antony having fun with the brothers. (Desert munks).  he was shocked and expressed his dismay because of their frivolity.  The old man said to the hunter, "Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it."  When he did so, Antony said, "Now shoot another." Again the hunter complied.  Then the old man asked him to shoot a third arrow. The hunter hesitated, "If I bend my bow too many times, I will weaken and break it."  Antony said to him, "It is the same with God's work.  If we stretch the brothers beyond measure, they will weaken and break."

Everyday disciples:  Work fascinates me.  I have been employed for over 20 years, more than half of my life.I was unemployed a few times, though I continued to work.  Being a student was a kind of work.  Living on a farm was a kind of work.  Ministry is a kind of work.  I have been employed a few times outside of those venues; I worked at a YMCA and a Radio Shack.  I have worked hard and I have been employed in a job that required very little work.  I was a campus phone operator in college. People called for information and for phone numbers.  Some shifts were completely silent.  I have been fortunate to have employment that paid me a sustainable wage most of my adult life.

Being a follower of Jesus or a Christian is not about exerting one's self to the point of exhaustion over things one cannot fix.  I think a lot of people, in and outside of church, are over-functioning and over-extended.  We try to justify ourselves by working a lot.  Work is idolized in American culture.  I am not disparaging hard work, especially in an economy with high unemployment.  In ministry I experience the result of unemployment in a consumer economy in which households must have an income of over $22,000 a year to be sustainable.   Work is an important part of life. But in our culture, work is tied to income which is tied to net worth or personal value.  We all know that some of the most valuable people in our culture are often underpaid and overworked. People working minimum wage jobs are slaves to this consumer economy that requires many people to work for low pay.  We enslave people in these jobs by demanding fast food and easy shopping. And now that everything is conveniently open 24/7/365, there are no breaks. It keeps spinning around.  
I also know that some of the best work is done by people who are doing it for free, without pay.  I know that meaningful work drives people to function more effectively than high pay.  I have been fascinated by people who have devoted themselves to certain non-profit causes. They seem happy in their work because they are doing what they love, what they're passionate about.  I like the idea "Do what you love, love what you do." I could devote myself to that kind of work.    
I also know that this culture does not honor Sabbath rest, either as a biblical commandment or as a basic practice of personal health.  We like vacation.  But we live a-rhythmic lives, in which we bounce from one thing to the next.

I suggest an alternative practice:  Sabbath-keeping.  I actually felt like my family had Sabbath time this weekend. And we had to be hermits in order to get it.  Staying home on Sunday to play family games and laugh at a very silly show on "Animal Planet" called "Finding Bigfoot," while eating pizza in the den together. (After worship, we stayed in.)
Work weakens and breaks us.  Everyone needs to experience Sabbath; a time of refreshment, rest, renewal, and enjoyment.  If you haven't had any of that, find a way to acquire it. If you can help someone get a Sabbath day, do so.