The Struggle to Sabbath

In his book The Emotionally Healthy Leader Pete Scazzero offers some helpful questions to ask in order to diagnose our struggle to stop working/producing in order to rest. I have listed them below:

1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
2. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?
3. Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
4. Have your family or friends given up expecting you to ever be on time?
5. Do you take on extra work because you are concerned it won’t otherwise get done?
6. Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
7. Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
8. Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?

The goal in working through these questions is not to be “guilted” into making changes. Rather, they are designed to help us become aware of tendencies we may have where we need to ask the Lord to help us, which he is always ready and willing to do! Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”