How about going on a vacation with a $7500 bonus given by the company you work for? That’s what one software company in Denver is offering its employees. The amount is based on an estimate of what a vacation would cost a family of four. But there’s a catch: those who take this offer must go on an actual vacation trip with the money, and commit to getting off the “technology grid.” That means no computer, no tablet, no smartphone; no email, no texting, no Facebook. Also, employees must never bring their work with them. In other words, they must go on a real vacation.
Some employees have already taken up the offer. They admit that the first few days proved to be quite challenging. But by the end of the vacation they testify to a real sense of being recharged and invigorated. CEO and co-founder Bart Lorang attests to a perceptible improvement in productivity among employees who have taken the bonus vacation.
In this society in which we live, there seems to be a tendency to overvalue activity. Productivity is equated with non-stop activity. Even when we’re away from the workplace we still end up working. Even in our so-called down times we still overcrowd ourselves with activity. We just do not know how to slow down, relax, and be present with the people we’re with. No wonder many of us come back from our vacations more weary than refreshed.
The Bible bids us to rest. But biblical rest is meaningfully enriched by the conscious and intentional choice to make God the sphere of that rest. “Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings” (Psalm 116:7 The Message). “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12 NIV). Adele Ahlberg Calhoun describes entering into this rest as a discipline that honors “our God-given limitations” and leads to “freedom from compulsion to take your identity from what you do.” It’s about curbing your “addiction to busyness, rush, and hurry” and learning to delight in the Lord, in family, and all his blessings.
A more specific form of this rest is the spiritual retreat when I “make space in my life for God alone.” Jesus often invited his disciples: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6.31 NIV). This is the kind of rest that is more focused on hearing the voice of God in moments of solitude and stillness. Taking a spiritual retreat is most important when faced with challenges: “Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes” (Psalms 37.7 NLT).
—Keith Jainga