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Theological Reflections on Vacation

Theological Reflections on Vacation

Last updated on: November 10, 2023 at 12:44 pm by Nathan Amerson

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Theological Reflections on Vacation 2023-11-10T12:44:47-08:00 Nathan Amerson

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I recently was blessed with the opportunity to get away from daily life and spend a few days in Hawaii with my wife and some friends. We also took my mother-in-law who lives with us and who had never visited the islands. The weather was balmy, the water was warm, we went swimming and snorkeling, took a catamaran cruise, and generally relaxed and had an enjoyable time. As a Christian reflecting on the time we spent I was reminded of three things.

Vacation and Sabbath Rest

First is the value of taking time away from the daily grind we often find ourselves in. When God created the world and humankind, He designed this down time as a purposeful reminder of all He has done. The Sabbath rest was God’s way of ensuring His people would take some time away from labor to worship and reflect on God’s goodness.

Genesis chapter 2 tells us that when God created the world, He Himself took a time of rest and established the seventh day as a day of rest for human beings. Additionally, God placed a blessing on the rest day and made it more than just a day off but a time that is set aside to Himself.

Gen 2.3: “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (ESV)

This act of making a day holy and set aside is mirrored later in the Tabernacle and the myriad of instruments associated with early worship for the Jews. Every article associated with worship and the Tabernacle was holy, set aside for one purpose only, the worship of the one true God.

Throughout my life I have not been a strict practitioner of the Sabbath day. I have had jobs that required me to work on Sundays, I have often done other work around the house on Sundays, and I have at times failed to even worship or take time aside for the Lord on His day. In short, I have often failed to be purposeful about the Sabbath, and in so doing have not worshipped and remembered the Creator in the ways He has called us to do.

This trip for me was a time of rest and relaxation. l spent time in prayer on the beach and also spent time with friends and family bonding over conversation and simple activities. It reminded me that down time is important, is what God has designed for our spiritual and physical health, and is a sanctified time that is holy before Him. I feel convicted to be more decisional with my time, ensuring that the Sabbath day is set aside to worship the Creator.

Vacation Can Be A Time of Rest and Reflection

Wealth and Worship

Sadly I was also confronted with the decadence of American society. Personally, I spent thousands on that trip and in Honolulu was continuously bombarded with high end shopping, advertisements, and tourist traps. Now, it is not a sin to spend money on a vacation. Often it is very necessary. At the same time I am challenged to honor God with my finances in all situations, and to use them for building His kingdom.

No one should feel guilty for taking a vacation. If you have the resources to do so and can get away for some relaxing and enjoyable activities you should do so. At the same time, Americans are the wealthiest people on the planet by far, and we should be convicted that God has called us to care for the poor. Of course, this is never as a means to salvation, but rather our duty to the sanctified life Christ has called us to live.

For anyone that has traveled to Hawaii you may know that apart from the military bases and the wealth of places like Waikiki, the rest of the islands are very much like a third world country. You routinely see homeless people, folks living in ramshackle beach shacks, and the poor who live hand to mouth. That these scenes are routinely set side by side and in contrast to the resort condos and restaurants only highlights the difference between the have and have nots.

Our Responsibility for the Poor

David Platt in his book Counter Culture tells his readers that God is glorified in rescuing the poor and oppressed and that He delights in providing for the needy, both monetarily and spiritually. By providing the Atonement He rescued all of us who are in spiritual poverty, raising us up to be sons of God.

Platt states: “Once we see this portrait of God in Christ, we realize that caring for the poor is not only necessary evidence of faith in him; it is the natural (or supernatural) overflow of faith in him. Doesn’t it make sense that those of us who love God as our Father would subsequently line as ‘imitators of God, as beloved children,’ walking ‘in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us’”. (Eph 5.1-2)

Counter Culture, 33

Traveling in Hawaii reminded me of this sacred duty to care for the poor. I do not feel guilty for taking a vacation, for staying in a condo, for eating well while we were there. God has blessed me with the resources to do so and, as I wrote above, I was grateful to take the time to rest and remember God’s blessings. Simultaneously to be true to the sanctified life God has prepared for us to live I must always ask this question: “Am I honoring God with my resources (time, money, talents)?” If the answer is yes then praise God, if not then I may need to adjust how I care for others out of the abundance God has given me.

Fitness as a Form of Worship

Finally, the biggest challenge to me personally came from the people I observed. Obesity is rampant in the American society. We are a culture that so enjoys the blessings we receive that we don’t work hard enough, we eat too much, and our bodies show it. I am pointing a finger directly at myself here as I would be much healthier if I lost 20 pounds. I need to employ the self-discipline to lose weight, watch what I eat, and exercise, especially as I get older.

It is not a sin to be fat. If it were many of us would be living a lifestyle which God abhors. However, it is a sin to put anything before our worship of God the Father. I was deeply challenged by my lifestyle as I reflected on my time in Hawaii, realizing that ease and food and drink can become idolatry if we allow them to.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians that many people live their lives as though they were enemies of God. This is evidenced by idolatry where he states for these people: “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” (Php 2.19ff ESV) We can allow the things of this life, which are not sinful in and of themselves, to become sin for us by being undisciplined with our lifestyle.

Fortunately for believers, God has made a way to overcome our sinful desires.

Paul goes on to tell us “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

I will be grateful one day to have a transformed body, one which inherently brings glory to God.

In the meantime, we are called to live in ways that glorify God in this life, which should mean being disciplined in all things, to include our overall health. Paul in another Scripture tells us that we are to strive to live for the kingdom of God in this life, being as disciplined to do so as athletes.

For himself he states: “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9.26-27 ESV)

This should be the effort we all make as believers.

Using Vacation Wisely

In short, vacation is a good thing. Taking time to spend with family, glorifying God with your time, and remembering His blessings will bring fruitfulness to your life, spiritually and mentally. We should also all be aware of God’s blessing and use the resources He has given us to care for the poor, a theme often repeated in Scripture. Finally we should keep our own bodies under control, not just sexually but even in food intake and exercise, that in so doing we may glorify God and not be disqualified as those who point the way to Him.

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