The Habit We Keep Ignoring

Why Sabbath still matters.

Photo by Hernan Sanchez

Let’s start with something we can all agree on: desecration is appalling.

No matter your religious background, there’s something deeply unsettling about the desecration of what people hold sacred. Whether it’s a church, a temple, a mosque, or any space considered holy, when it’s vandalized or defiled, it stirs a visceral reaction.

A 2019 Newsweek article reported on a string of attacks against Catholic churches in France. Statues were smashed, tabernacles knocked over, the Eucharist scattered or destroyed. In one church, the altar was looted, and a cross was smeared with human excrement. You don’t have to be Catholic to be disgusted by this kind of depravity. Desecration rightly sparks outrage.

And yet, while we recoil in disgust when a sacred space is violated, most of us fail to see how we regularly desecrate something God Himself has declared holy.

Because here’s the truth:

God wired humanity for weekly Sabbath rest and declared it holy.

And when we refuse to practice Sabbath—whether out of busyness, distraction, or cultural resistance—we desecrate what God has called sacred.

The Forgotten Command

For many of us, the issue isn’t deliberate disobedience but simple ignorance. We don’t understand Sabbath. We think of it as an outdated Jewish tradition or, at best, a nice idea for people who can afford a slower life.

But Sabbath isn’t just a suggestion. It’s woven into the fabric of the creation story.

Where Does Sabbath Come From?

The practice of Sabbath begins in Genesis 2:1-3, at the completion of creation:

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

The Hebrew word for “rested” is shabat, which simply means “to cease.” God wasn’t exhausted—Isaiah 40:28 makes it clear that He “never grows faint or weary.” His rest was intentional, setting a precedent for human flourishing.

And notice what God does in verse 3:

• He blessed the seventh day.

• He declared it holy.

What’s remarkable is that this is the first thing in all of Scripture God calls holy. Not a place. Not an object. Not even a person.

A day.

Before temples, before religious rituals, before any laws were given, God set apart time itself as sacred.

Rabbi Abraham Heschel famously wrote, “The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals.”

And yet, we treat Sabbath as optional.

The Command We Keep Ignoring

Fast forward to Exodus, where God has just freed Israel from 400 years of brutal, non-stop labor in Egypt. One of the very first commands He gives them is to remember the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11).

And just to be clear, this wasn’t a suggestion. In fact, God gives more instruction for keeping the Sabbath than for any other commandment in the Ten Commandments.

Why?

Because He knew they had spent generations as slaves, working without rest. And He knew that without intentional rest, they would quickly return to the mindset of slavery—even if they were no longer in Egypt.

The same is true for us.

We don’t live in ancient Egypt, but we are enslaved to work, productivity, and constant busyness. We check emails at stoplights, fill every gap in our day with social media, and treat exhaustion as a badge of honor.

Sabbath is God’s way of breaking our addiction to busyness.

And yet, many Christians push back:

“We’re not under the Old Testament law anymore! Jesus freed us from all that.”

And that’s true—Jesus fulfilled the law. But the Sabbath isn’t just a Jewish regulation. It’s a creation principle woven into the very rhythm of life.

To dismiss Sabbath as legalism is like refusing to breathe because you don’t want to be bound by the laws of oxygen.

Sabbath Is a Gift

We often treat Sabbath as a rule to keep rather than a gift to receive.

But Jesus Himself said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

In other words, God didn’t create us to serve the Sabbath—He created the Sabbath to serve us.

How?

1. Sabbath Refreshes Our Souls

The world drains us. Sabbath is God’s way of refilling us.

Think of your soul like a phone battery. Without regular charging, you don’t function properly. Sabbath is the weekly recharge our souls desperately need.

2. Sabbath Resists the Slavery of Work

When Israel left Egypt, God told them to “remember” the Sabbath. Why?

Because rest is an act of resistance.

Our culture tells us that our worth is tied to our productivity. But when we Sabbath, we declare, “I am not what I produce. My value is not measured by my output.”

Sabbath is how we push back against a world that tries to enslave us to work, busyness, and burnout.

3. Sabbath Reminds Us of the Eternal Rest to Come

Genesis 2 gives us a glimpse of life before sin—before anxiety, exhaustion, and suffering. Revelation 21 gives us a glimpse of life after sin, when God will restore all things.

Sabbath is a weekly preview of eternity—a small taste of the rest and peace that will one day be ours forever.

How Do We Practice Sabbath?

If you’re new to this, start small. Here are six Sabbath suggestions (not rules):

1. Enjoy worshipful activity. Listen to music, read Scripture, pray.

2. Enjoy restful activity. Nap, take a walk, sit in silence.

3. Enjoy life-giving activity. Spend time with people who fill your soul.

4. Ignore work activity. No emails, no work calls, no productivity.

5. Ignore stressful activity. If it drains you, save it for another day.

6. Ignore sad activity. Sabbath is a time for joy, not heaviness.

More than anything, remember that the goal isn’t legalism. It’s rest.

The Gift We Keep Rejecting

At the end of the day, Sabbath is both a command and a gift.

Think about it like this: If I offered you the car of your dreams—completely free, no payments, no strings attached—you wouldn’t reject it. You’d receive it joyfully.

And yet, when it comes to Sabbath, we reject the very thing God wired us to need.

Jesus invites us into a life of rest. Not just an eternal rest in the future, but real rest now—a rest that refreshes, restores, and reminds us who we really are.

So the question is: will you receive it?

This week, what would it look like for you to truly stop, rest, and enjoy the presence of God?

Because the life surrendered to Christ will learn to Sabbath.

Let’s not desecrate what God has called holy.

Let’s learn to rest.