“We worship our work, we work at our play, and we play at our worship.”[1] This reflects the modern challenge in the West. Resources are abundant, resulting in a greater amount of free time for entertainment. We are sometimes even tempted to believe we have more leisure than our ancestors or those in less developed economies. However, as Ryken notes, our quality of leisure has significantly declined because we indulge in escapism and consumerism.[2] We mistakenly think that having more free time means better leisure, and our souls will find rest and renewal. We are more anxious, experience more burnout,[3] and feel less fulfilled—what’s called a burnout society.[4] I argue that this stems from our lack of understanding of the value and practice of true leisure in our lives.
1. Paul Heintzman, Leisure and Spirituality: Biblical, Historical, and Contemporary Perspectives (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015), 199.
2. Leland Ryken, Work and Leisure in Christian Perspective (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002), 53-54.
3. Fulmer, Crystal B., and Robert R. Sinclair. “Burnout Among Pastors in Relation to Congregation Member and Church Organizational Outcomes.” Review of Religious Research 65, no. 1 (2023): 62-90. Doh Fia, Stephen, Charles Fosu-Ayarkwa, and Bismarck Kusi. “Impact of Stress and Burnout on Quality of Life of Pastors.” Universal Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 2, no. 3 (2022): 160-175. These studies show that having “more time” or being in a vocation associated with meaning and spiritual renewal does not automatically protect against burnout. Instead, pastors’ work is supposed to center around spiritual rest and soul care, still show substantial levels of exhaustion, anxiety, and diminished fulfillment.
4. Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2015), 19. Han described the symptom of burnout with graphic description “Muselmänner are emaciated prisoners lacking all vigor who, like people with acute depression, have become entirely apathetic and can no longer even recognize physical cold or the orders given by guards.
God creates leisure and work as a means of human flourishing in the world. Principles about leisure and vocation can be drawn from the biblical themes of sabbath, festival, and food throughout Scripture. This article will explore the rhythms of sabbath and work in the lives of the people of Israel. Then, it will examine the rhythm of festivals and celebrations in Israel’s history. Next, it will discuss the Bible’s perspective on food and fellowship within its storytelling. Finally, it will suggest practical ways Christians can embrace the rhythm of work and leisure in their daily routines.
Defining Leisure
Leisure is the enjoyment of God’s mediated beauty revealed in creation. God’s beauty is communicated to us through creation in several ways, but two of the most significant are the image of God in humanity and in communion with God through corporate worship. I define work as humanity participating in God’s creative work in the process of “filling, subduing, and having dominion” over the earth. I define leisure as humanity participating in the beholding and enjoyment of the works God has done in the world through the works of our hands. Leisure has both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. Quantitatively, we are called to maintain a rhythm of non-work enjoyment—the result of our work with God’s people. Qualitatively, we are called to rest, enjoy, and celebrate in the peace, life, and freedom that God offers through Christ in the Spirit. Work and leisure coexist and depend on each other for their true meaning. Since overworking without leisure leads to drudgery, and endless leisure without work results in indulgence. Both drudgery and indulgence make us less human and damage our souls. We do not pursue leisure to work harder, nor do we work solely to enjoy leisure more. Both work and leisure are genuine and natural goods, and they should be pursued by humanity for their own sake because they are means given by God to enjoy Him. God has woven both work and leisure into the fabric of humanity, following His pattern of working and resting.
Some form of leisure can conform a person to the true image of God while other forms of leisure can deform us by turning us more inward and less the image of God. Helpful use of leisure can help us to be more like God (selfless, joyful, and more alive), while unhelpful use of leisure can make us more inhumane (selfish, dull, and passive). Helpful leisure activities help us to love and enjoy God and love and enjoy human made in his image more.[5] Unhelpful leisure activities deform us into humans who love ourselves more while loving and enjoying God less and isolate us from other image bearers.[6] Even in helpful leisure there are types of leisure that are more helpful at helping us behold and enjoy God more than others. We must exercise wisdom and discernment to consider whether an activity is helpful or unhelpful leisure, or which leisurely activities are more helpful than others. I will attempt later in this article to give some helpful ways to evaluate different leisure.
5. Some examples of true leisure activities are a meal with good friends, enjoying human creativity in music or a good book, or playing sports or games with friends.
6. Some examples of false leisure activities are doomscrolling social media, indulging in video games as a source of escapism, and binging on TV shows.
The Rhythm of Work and Leisure that God has put in the World
In the beginning, as God created the world, he built into its fabric a pattern of both work and leisure as he stepped back from each day and declared it was good. For six days, God did the work of creation. And each day, God stepped back, beheld the result of his work, and declared it good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 30). At the end of the six days, God stepped back for a more extended amount of time and “saw everything that he had made,” and declared it “very good” (Gen. 1:30).[7] The Lord rested on the Sabbath from all of his work (Gen. 2:2), sanctified the Sabbath, and blessed the Sabbath. This does not mean God entered into inactivity, since he was (and is) still sustaining the universe. Instead, God is showing humanity that He is entering into beholding and enjoyment of his work. Both work as a vocation is good, and leisure, as the enjoyment of that work, is good. They give meaning to each other.[8] The Dominion Mandate encompasses both work and leisure: not only does God command the man and woman to “have dominion” (Gen 1:28), but he also instructs them to enjoy all that he has given them (Gen 1:29). Considering the wide variety of tastes, textures, flavors, and smells of fruits and vegetables, this is a command for enjoyment. Both activities of dominion and enjoyment reflect humanity’s position as vice-regents over the earth—just as God works in creation and enjoys what he has made, so we image him both by working and by enjoyment of such act.[9] We imaged God in His creative act and His enjoyment of such act. God is calling all of humanity into that pattern of working and “beholding and enjoyment”, or leisure.
7. The language of God “resting,” “pausing” or “stepping back” is all analogical, as God is unchangeable and eternal (that is, outside of time). While these words do not communicate a change within God’s being, they do express a changing relationship between God and His creation. And more importantly for the purposes of this article, God’s rest is meant as a pattern for creation and a pattern for us to imitate.
8. Josef Pieper, Leisure: The Basis of Culture (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009), 41-43.
9. Ryken, Redeeming the Time, 173-174.
God built this same rhythm of work and rest into the fabric of Israel’s society by way of the Sabbath. There was a clear distinction between the time they were called to work and the time they were called to rest; these two acts were not to be mixed. In fact, God commanded His people not to gather manna on the Sabbath, encouraging them to deny themselves physical provision and instead trust that God would provide for them (Exod. 16:22–29). Rather, they are to rest or enter into a state of beholding and enjoyment of God’s work with their family and community (Exod 16:29-30). This pattern of Sabbath, of quantitative leisure, also extended to the land, the animals, and even the foreigners (Exod 23:10-12). The practice of deliberate leisure on the Sabbath became part of the covenantal relationship God established with His people (Exod 31:14-18).
For His people to experience His goodness, God commanded his people to follow His pattern of “beholding and rejoicing” separate from their daily work. God teaches His people in physical and embodied ways through the Sabbath command. The alternating pattern of work and beholding is how authentic humanity flourishes as they live in God’s world, God’s way. Not only does the weekly Sabbath point to the quantitative aspect of leisure in the creational order, but also to feasts and festivals in the lives of Israel. Through such an extended period of time away from the daily grind to celebrate in community, God calls His people to experience another dimension of leisure (Exod 34:21-24).
The Rhythm of Celebration and Festival in Israel
Not only does the weekly Sabbath point to the quantitative aspect of leisure in the creational order, but so also do feasts and festivals in the life of Israel. In these feasts and festivals, God commands his people to spend an extended period of time away from the daily grind to worship him and celebrate in community. God calls His people to experience a deeper dimension of leisure (Exod. 34:21-24). Three times a year, the people were to go to the temple for the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Exod. 34:21–24). During this time, all the men of Israel (and often their whole family) traveled to Jerusalem to be in the presence of God (Exod. 34:23). Such extended time away from work would be unheard of in the ancient world, where the vast majority of people lived a subsistence lifestyle. Notably, exceptions were not made for especially busy seasons like those of plowing or harvesting—instead, God reiterates that the command to rest applies then too (Exod. 34:21). A typical journey will take between two to seven days of walking (depending on how far they are from Jerusalem) to travel to Jerusalem and another two to seven days to return. They will stay there for seven days for the Passover feast and the Feast of Tabernacles, or 1 day for the Feast of Weeks.[10] So in total, the people would spend between twenty-six and fifty-seven days either at, or traveling to, these feasts. All of this traveling and celebration time is time they cannot work the field or provide for themselves, but instead must trust God and focus on intentional “beholding and rejoicing” in God’s presence with God’s people in God’s creation. Apart from this official time, there were also non-obligatory times of feasting during weddings (Gen. 29:27; Judg. 14:12), harvest feasts (Ruth 3:9), new moon festival (Num. 10:10), and potentially other social occasions.
10. Hayyim Schauss, The Jewish Festivals: A Guide to Their History and Observance (New York: Schocken Books, 1996), 176. Schauss also mentions that the pilgrims never traveled alone but always traveled in caravans in their communities.
What is the purpose of all these festivals? To enjoy the presence of God, celebrate communion with one another, and delight in the riches of God’s provision (food, drink, etc.). In other words, to behold and rejoice in the goodness of God in worship, in his image-bearers, and in his creation and provision. During the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel was commanded to feast with their whole families and to be glad in their eating and drinking. God commands his people to enjoy the feast, not eat and drink with a cold, dutiful attitude (Deut. 16:14–15). Moreover, in the tithing command, God tells the people to eat the tithe to the glory of God and in communion with others:
and you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your God and be glad, you and your household. (Deut. 14:26).
These times of feasting are meant to cultivate the qualitative dimension of leisure among God’s people—resting, enjoying, and celebrating in the peace, life, and freedom that He has provided. The neighboring nations might even mock Israel for dedicating so much time, effort, and money to “behold and rejoice” rather than working and producing
We learn more about God’s purposes in commanding these feasts when we consider how the people would have spent their time while traveling to the feasts. The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134) were commonly used by pilgrims on their journey to Jerusalem for these feasts and festivals.[11] In these psalms we can see their celebration of what God has given them in their vocation(Ps. 126:6,128:2), their anticipated joy in God’s presence (Ps. 122:1), lament of their current situation in life (Ps. 126:5), and hope in God final rescue (Ps. 124:8). These times of traveling up to be with God were not only times of feasting but also of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, lament, and supplication. These pilgrims engage in introspection individually and celebrate corporately on their way to meet with their Redeemer and Sustainer. This understanding of corporate and individual reflective and prayerful journeys done apart from their vocation can contribute to our understanding of the qualitative nature of leisure in the life of Israel. These Psalms of Ascent help us to see the leisure dimension of contemplation or “beholding” in the life of Israel.
11. Bruce K. Waltke and Fred G. Zaspel, How to Read and Understand the Psalms (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 101-102.
Although the Lord commanded and blessed this gift of work and leisure in Israel’s life, they often rejected His good gift by ignoring the Sabbath, the Festival, the Jubilee, and failing to let the land rest (2 Chron. 36:20–21, Ezek. 20:12–13, 21). Thus, although we see the pattern for true leisure set forward in the Old Testament, we rarely see it practiced in the history of Israel.
Biblical Understanding of Food and Fellowship
How do work and production compare to the time we spend in community beholding and rejoicing? Let us now explore some ways and places where God has taught and modeled true leisure for His people.
Several times in Scripture, we see God enjoying food and fellowship with his people. The Lord “beholds” in the covenant fellowship he has with Abraham and “delights” in the meal with Abraham (Gen 18:1-8), the leader of Israel shared a meal with God (Exod 24:9-12), and the people of Israel are to enjoy their offering with their family in the Lord’s presence (Deut 12:18). It seems as if table activities like food and drink, good conversations among people, and enjoyment of God’s creations are part of God’s design for his people to know him, love him, and delight in him. If the book of Proverbs teaches us to work to the glory of God (Prov 6:6-18, 10:4, 12:24), then the book of Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy leisure to the glory of God.
The book of Ecclesiastes teaches that we are to enjoy all the gifts of God’s good creation (Eccl. 2:24–26; 3:12–13, 22; 5:17–19; 7:14; 8:15; 9:7–9; 11:9–12:1).[12] Throughout Ecclesiastes, the enjoyment of the works of our hands is encouraged (Eccl. 3:22), as well as enjoying food and drinks (Eccl. 2:24–26), experiencing the good things in this life (Eccl. 5:17–19), and the pleasure of marriage (Eccl. 9:7–9). The goodness of God in creation through food and drinks should be enjoyed without “hoarding, addiction, or obsession”.[13] These activities are meant to be leisurely, existing apart from the toil and work of daily life, which God ordains his people to “behold and rejoice” in.
12. Heintzman, Leisure and Spirituality, 173.
13. Heintzman, Leisure and Spirituality, 91.
The prophets in both the Old and New Covenants speak of food and drink as part of the eschatological joys that will come when the Lord reunites with His people. The Lord is coming to rescue and redeem His people, swallowing up death for them and providing them with a banquet of good food and drinks forever (Isa. 25:6–8). Jesus used many illustrations of the coming Kingdom of God, comparing it to a wedding feast with abundant food and drink (Matt. 8:11–12, Matt. 22:1–14). The people of God are to enjoy the eschatological celebration called the marriage dinner party of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7–9). These feasts are reflected in Jesus’ own life, as he celebrated with His people while on earth. His first miracles involve the multiplication of wine for a wedding feast (John 2:7–11), one of his parables involves a father celebrating his lost son with a party of great food (Luke 15), and his promise to drink the “fruit of the vine” with his disciples in the New Heaven and Earth (Matt. 26:29).
Jesus, along with the prophets of the Old and New Testaments, as well as through the life and teachings of Jesus, highlight food and drink as good gifts from God. The aspect of enjoying food and beverages as an act of “beholding and rejoicing” in God in fellowship with other human beings can be observed. Therefore, meals are not incidental; they are creational means to participate in God’s joy. By eating and drinking with gratitude, God’s people look forward to the joy of His coming kingdom.[14] To enjoy food and fellowship rightly is to “behold and rejoice” in the God who gives every good gift. Corporately, when our church rightly partake in the Lord’s Supper, we prepare ourselves for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Individually, when our families host a meal for an international student, a lonely neighbor, or a divorcee, we participate in godly leisure. Let us now turn to some practical ways to “behold and rejoice” in our daily lives.
14. Heintzman, Leisure and Spirituality, 92.
Practical Ways We Can Spend True Leisure Time Today
If leisure is indeed a good that God has built into the fabric of humanity, which will also be enjoyed in the eschaton, we should pursue and enjoy true leisure today as Christians. As Christians, we should pursue true leisure in both its quantitative and qualitative senses. Below are a few suggestions for Christians to pursue authentic leisure individually and corporately as a church.
Quantitatively, Christians should set aside time for genuine leisure activities that are clearly distinct from their work. There should be moments in their lives when they invest in “beholding and rejoicing” in God’s good creation with others, even if it’s a few hours of rejoicing with loved ones over dinner. Helpful leisure activities are freely available in nature and in the patterns of all cultures. The contemplation of beauty in nature and or our enjoyment of God given social connections are freely available to all people and cultures. People should recognize the creational pattern of work and rest and make a sincere effort not to work during their leisure time or pursue leisure during their work.
Qualitatively, Christians should wisely discern the different levels of their leisure pursuits. Not all leisure activities offer the same restorative, refreshing, and joyful qualities that bring peace and freedom. Christians should reject activities that promote escapism, isolation, and consumerism.[15] Escapism, isolation, and consumerism deform us from being the true image of God as humans. Christians should be cautious of the desire for more and better “things” as they pursue leisure, since “the eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing” (Eccl 1:8). Instead, they should practice restraint, wisdom, and contentment in their leisure activities. Christians should choose pursuits that strengthen and celebrate relationships, both with God and others. The Triune God has enjoyed creation as Trinity, not alone. God has designed festivals, journeys, and meals to be enjoyed together in community.
15. In escapism, we are telling our creator the created reality is not good and we can craft for ourselves realities that are better than God’s eschatological redemptive reality. In isolation, we cut ourselves off from God’s command to love your neighbor as yourselves. In consumerism, we grow in our craving of possessing more, bigger, and better trinkets than our neighbors.
Together, the church can organize more festive activities and retreats focused on food and promote informal gatherings at homes. Individually, Christians should resist the temptation to eat alone while on their smartphones during lunch breaks. This makes a meal into a utilitarian activity instead of a relationship-building and leisurely activity. They should find another person to eat with and talk to during mealtime. Food should be seen not as a personal indulgence or utilitarian task but as a way to “rejoice and behold” God in His good creation through community.
Evaluation of Leisurely Activities
How can we practically determine if the leisure activities we engage in to behold and rejoice is helpful? I encourage readers to consider whether their chosen activity is embodied, recreational, intentional, relational, affectional, and eschatological. Embodied, this activity is done in person and celebrates the physical reality God has created in the world. Recreationally, do you feel more rested, grateful, and ready to return to your vocation, or are you more restless, dull, or depleted? Intentionally, are you actively engaging with God’s creation—your body, mind, and creativity—or passively consuming in ways that numb or distract? Relationally, does this activity foster meaningful connections with others, or lead to isolation and self-absorption? Affectionally, does this activity cultivate a desire for deeper joys—such as relationships, prayer, and beauty—or distort your desires through addiction or escapism? Eschatologically, does this activity direct your affections toward eternity, or distract you from it? These helpful tests can help us to evaluate how certain activities can be more helpful than others or if certain activities are more deforming us from being true image of God. Some activities can check off more boxes than others, and it will take wisdom to discern if certain activities is more helpful or hurtful to your formation to the image of Christ or not in this season of life.
Enjoying leisure alone is increasingly celebrated and embraced in our world. Our culture tells us that doing activities that are harder, involve inconveniences, or require more sacrifice is bad and should be avoided if possible. Some leisurely activities to enjoy God’s beauty in nature such as reading alone or hiking alone can be helpful to form us into the true image of God. Yet, we should be wary that our culture’s hyper-individualism has promoted activities that foster loneliness and independence, such as solo traveling, video games played alone, or doom-scrolling social media. Leisure activities that involve others take more effort, sacrifice, and sometimes more inconvenience. Hosting a game night or dinner party is more difficult to pull off, yet it is a worthwhile leisure activity. Watching or playing organized games or sports with others is rewarding and more challenging than just watching sports alone. Yet, even as God has called His people to self-denial, these leisure activities can be enjoyed responsibly. Such individual leisure activities are not inherently sinful (Rom. 14:23). They can help refresh the soul and allow us to behold and rejoice in God’s good creation. These should be balanced with communal leisure activities and not done in isolation. Otherwise, if we engage in these activities without awareness of their isolating and escapist effect on our souls, we may become less human, and our ability to enjoy and behold God could diminish. Christians should enjoy individual activities in moderation and remain vigilant over their souls, guarding against the temptation to escapism from their hard life, independence from others, or addiction to created things. Christians should be intentional in all areas of life, including leisure, because Christ is Lord over all.
There is always an option to do an activity together, but it requires creativity and intentionality on our part. Instead of solo traveling, one might exhaust all other options to travel with a friend first. Instead of eating dinner or going to the movies alone, one might ask a friend to come with you. Instead of watching a movie or a TV show alone after a long day at work, one might invite a friend over to watch it together and talk about it afterwards. Instead of playing video games alone, play it with close friends and be intentional about connecting and celebrating what’s good, true, and beautiful in it. Instead of using an AI chatbot to ease the pain of loneliness, one might call a friend or family member. Let us resist the urge of cheap leisure that is easy, individualistic, and escapist.
Conclusion
We are called to work for the glory of God and enjoy leisure for the glory of God. Both work and leisure are necessary for us to flourish as God’s image bearers in God’s world. As our culture collapses due to overwork and its resulting in burnout or escapism, it strains the fabric of society. The Church can be a shining light amidst this darkness. She can offer and model for the world a proper understanding of leisure, according to the Creator who redeems and restores His image in His people. This is our calling to display the beauty of Christ in our community life as we live a life filled with “beholding and rejoicing” to the glory of God.
