Called to Work Created to Rest

Last updated on: September 6, 2026 at 2:47 pm by Rob Giannamore

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Called to Work Created to Rest 2026-09-06T14:47:03-04:00 Rob Giannamore

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Miller’s Station UMC| 9/6/26 | Anchor Verse Genesis 2:2-3

Life is More than Work

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the posture I am trying to take these days when it comes to my relationship with work and play. Today, as we get ready to celebrate Labor Day, I think that question is worth bringing forward: What is our work for, and what kind of life is God inviting us to live?

I grew up watching both of my grandfathers specifically, and many other elder men around me, strive for and eventually reach that moment when, after 30 to 40 years of continuous work, they retired. For many, those “golden years” were a holy idol they spent their lives moving toward, often giving countless hours to a job they may or may not have actually liked. For some, work became their whole identity. And for some, once the work stopped, their physical and mental health greatly declined after retiring.

And that begs a deeper question for us today: Is life really all about getting a golden watch, playing golf at the end, and hoping we have enough strength left to enjoy it?

I think not. And I have watched younger generations challenge and even myself the notion that the goal is simply to work all your life for some golden reward at the end. Newer statistics show that young people are only staying in their current jobs 2 to 5 years before moving on to something new. See these reports from the Pew Research Poll and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Whether we agree with every choice or not, something in that shift is asking a spiritual question: Are we working to live, or have we started living only to work?

After my first career was cut short by people I thought I could trust, I set out for my second career to be something I could have more control and liberty over. I worked for a while in agencies to get my feet wet and finally set out to work in a partnership where I have more say in how I get to spend my time. I am often telling folks that all we have is time, so why waste it being unhappy? That is not just career advice; it is a spiritual question. If time is a gift from God, then how we spend it matters.

Life is more than work. It is a challenge that is worth living, one that we should get to define, but yet not let it define us. This weekend, we celebrate Labor Day, and with it comes the unofficial end of summer. But often, we forget what Labor Day is really about. It is not only a long weekend, a cookout, or one last breath before fall schedules begin again. It is an invitation to remember the dignity of labor, the necessity of rest, and the call to use our work for something larger than ourselves. Today, I want to explore the importance of rest, and guide us to focus our work on the labor of building up the kindom of God.

Devotion to Life

One of my favorite quotes attributed to the Stoic philosopher Seneca reads, “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.” Paul, from New Testament fame and a contemporary of Seneca wrote that when he was a child, he thought and acted as a child, but as an adult, he put childish ways behind him, signaling a motion forward in becoming.

Seneca “argues for moderation and for the improvement of the mind. He believes that humans are provided plenty of time to enjoy life, but we misunderstand enjoyment. Rather than seeking idle pleasures, or more leisure time, or easy lifestyles, we should remember that death is always close which will remind us of the value of each moment. When people claim that life is too short, he faults their own thinking. Sharp, pointed, concise, and direct, Seneca blames humans for wasting most of the time that they do.”

The act of engaging in life is described as an action verb – living. It means we have to be actively doing something. We miss so much and we are lulled even more these days by easy consumption. So many of my clients do not read and waste their time not engaging in the great pleasures of life – real good food, real, honest laughter with friends and family and genuine play that tires you out and maybe even a little bit dangerous.

Most famously, Seneca has a quote about the preciousness of time – “Seneca considered time as our most valuable resource. His writings urge us to be mindful of the fleeting nature of life and our inability to regain lost time. His quote, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it,” underscores this belief.”

Labor Day is a celebration of organized labor, but it is also a reminder that people deserve time off, dignity, and support for the work they do each day. And as I was thinking about that, I found myself asking a deeper question: if our labor matters, then how do we make sure our living matters too? How do we celebrate life, deepen our living, and offer our work not just to a paycheck, not just to survival, but to the labor of building up the kindom of Jesus? That question leads us into some practices that can return us to center.

Spiritual Practices to Deepen our Living

I want to pivot from talking about Labor Day, organized labor, and the importance of rest, and ask how we actually return to center and deepen our practice of living. If life is more than work, then we need practices that help us live more fully and deeply, not as people who are only trying to survive the week, but as people learning how to labor better in the building of God’s kindom. I want to reflect on passages that you will find in your bulletin this week, and I encourage your lectio this week to follow along. These passages remind us that our work and our rest both belong to God:

Paul says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” — Colossians 3:23. Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” — Matthew 11:28. The commandment reminds us, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work” — Exodus 20:9. Paul tells the church that our labor in the Lord is “not in vain” — 1 Corinthians 15:58. And the Psalmist prays, “The Lord establishes the work of our hands” — Psalm 90:17.

Let us take these apart and consider that our work matters, but it is not our master. Our labor has dignity, but it is not our identity. Our time is sacred, and how we spend it becomes part of our discipleship. When I was considering practices that go along with honoring our time, I settled on the practices of forgiveness, joy, meaning, and rest. Let us keep exploring.

First, forgiveness. Forgiveness is a practice that we can turn to when we need to begin forgiving ourselves for the places where we feel that we have not added up. And that matters because many of us carry our work like a report card for our worth. We measure ourselves by what got done, what did not get done, what succeeded, what failed, who noticed, and who did not. But Jesus does not call the weary to prove themselves; Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor.” Forgiveness is one of these practices that cannot always be achieved alone. I encourage all to seek out a therapist who can help you on the path of self discovery to address feelings of not being enough. Doing so will unburden you and free your living in ways that are profound.

Second, joy. Joy is a practice that we need to keep us centered. For me, mindfulness is a key practice in practicing joy everyday. When life is chaotic, the news is grim and the clients come to me with some of the most unhinged problems, I simply take a moment after each session to look at the various pictures around my office that capture moments of peace and joy in my life. Joy is fleeting, but found in small doses, it can be the balm to an otherwise dreary existence. This is part of what it means to work as unto the Lord. Whatever we do, even in ordinary rooms, ordinary offices, ordinary conversations, ordinary responsibilities, can become holy when our hearts are rooted in God and not in the grind.

Third, meaning. Meaning is a practice that keeps us grounded. Why is the key question – why are you doing what you are doing?. Is what you are doing right now life giving? Or is it taking your life away? I have always lived in a way that generally creates life in me. I am privileged to now be in my late forties and in a job that affords me the ability to create meaningful experiences not only for myself but for others in my space. Awareness of this creates a deep appreciation for the grace God has provided to do so and deepens the meaning I experience daily. This is where Psalm 90 becomes a prayer for us: Lord, establish the work of our hands. Let our labor be not in vain. Let what we build, what we love, what we carry, and what we release become part of the kindom you are bringing into the world. And when we begin to live from that place, we can finally hear the invitation underneath all of this: rest is not a reward for finishing everything; rest is holy because God has made it part of the rhythm of faithful living.

Rest Is Holy

In closing, we are often told in the Christian world about the concept of Sabbath and the importance of rest. By Sabbath, I simply mean a holy pause, a God-given rhythm of stopping, resting, and remembering that we are not machines. In our busy, 24/7 world where side hustles are a norm because people cannot pay the bills, Sabbath is perhaps the ultimate practice that can deepen our living. Rest is holy.

In observing the Sabbath, we are invited to be aware of the idea that life is more than the pursuit of work and meaningful labor. Life is a celebration that must be received, savored, and lived with intention. We grow up being taught that our worth is measured by what we produce. When we turn to Sabbath practices, we are called back to the deeper truth that we are more than our work, more than our accomplishments, and more than the pace we keep. Sabbath gives us space to forgive ourselves for the ways we have fallen short, to rediscover joy in the ordinary gifts of life, and to stay grounded in the meaning that holds us when everything else feels rushed or uncertain. Sabbath is more than an escape from living; it is a return to the essence of living itself, this is why I spend so much time in the woods. For me, my sabbath time allows me to disconnect with the world around me and engage deeply with my inner dialogue. Sabbath can teach us to stop long enough to notice, to rest deeply enough to heal, and to live freely enough to become fully present to God, to others, and to our own souls. Our keeping the Sabbath day is “a paraphrase of His sanctification of the seventh day.” Our observance of a holy Sabbath day is only the faintest glimpse of God’s holy rest, but it is still potent. It regularly reorients our lives around God and eternity, breaking the hold of temporal, passing things and stirring our hearts to long for home in him. So on this Labor Day weekend, may we remember that we are called to work, but we are also created to rest. May the Lord establish the work of our hands, may our labor not be in vain, and may our lives bear witness to a God who does not measure us by our productivity but welcomes us into holy rest. Amen.