Exhausted Come Monday

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Last week, at a Detroit City Football Club match with my son I heard someone remark behind me “It’s amazing that they can run for 90 minutes straight!” I thought about that for a while and without in any way diminishing the superior conditioning of those players they don’t actually run the whole time.

There was an article on Fivethirtyeight.com a few years ago about Lebron James and strategies he uses to conserve energy and play smarter basketball. It was fascinating to note that as he’s grown older (we are roughly the same age) his game has evolved. The article states the obvious – he’s an incredible shooter, ball handler, and scorer. Any poster that’s been printed of Lebron has him driving to the basket, dunking over somebody’s head, or shooting an impossible three pointer. But as the authors point out this is all made possible by something which will NEVER appear on a poster, the walking of Lebron James.

Even casual observers of the NBA know that perhaps no player carries the weight of his teams more than Lebron. And so, to avoid injury and burnout his coaches are constantly seeking ways to manage his finite energy. Like those amazing soccer players, he is smart, moving slowly and deliberately until it’s time for action. Lebron walks and rests until it’s absolutely necessary to act.

One of the core tenets of both Judaism and Christianity is to honor the Sabbath – a regular day of rest throughout the week. There are extensive rules about what you cannot do during this day. The ancients knew that work and productivity were a dangerous contaminant, and that if even a little bit were allowed into this day it would spread to the whole twenty-four period.  In days of the past, to break the Sabbath was punishable by death, lest the people be tempted not to take rest seriously enough.

But it’s not just a religious concept, everything in nature points to the need for a period of rest. There are seasons of intense biological activity on this planet and then seasons of relative inaction.

In our late-capitalist society, these rhythms have become disrupted or even largely ignored. We have constant information and activity being given and required of us. Global supply chains, the twenty-four-hour news cycle, social media, and phones that never stop buzzing. Whether you consider yourself religious or not, perhaps the concept of Sabbath is more necessary than ever.

My official day off from formal work is Friday, and it can be either the best day of the week or the worst day of the week.

When it’s bad, it’s bad! I think to myself “I have all this extra time today, what a wonderful opportunity to get caught up on all the things I’ve missed.” Perhaps I’ll try to finish my sermon for the week, or return some phone calls, or arrange a cheeky meeting or two. But it rarely goes well. The universe will conspire against me to make these activities unfruitful, uninteresting, or just plain frustrating. This impulse reminds me of my early years of counseling when out of youthful ambition and naïve caring I would allow clients to schedule sessions during holidays. They’d inevitably cancel at the last minute or no show without calling. After all it’s a holiday – they’re barbecuing with friends or at the beach with family.

I used to feel really angry, however there had nobody to blame but myself for sprinting when I should’ve been walking. Maybe an ancient Hebrew priest could’ve thrown a rock at my head to remind me to stop.

The Israelites were sent out to the wilderness for 40 years to learn the rhythms of God. During that time, God provided manna from heaven, but only on six of the seven days. The day before Sabbath, they were to take double and if they ventured out into the fields the next day they’d find nothing on the ground.

Likewise, you can try to squeeze in more things when in fact you should be doing nothing. You’re like a midfielder dashing around when the ball is nowhere near you, or late thirties Lebron sprinting up to the half court line. It’s such a waste as to almost be comical. And also you’ll find yourself exhausted, frustrated, and hungry come Monday.

The world will go on without you for a day, the Universe will continue to provide. So why not sit down and take a breather? Cause you’re doing a little too much…