Have a seat!
Three words that
all of us have heard at some point in
our lives.
As children we heard such words from our parents or caregivers. Eight or nine times out of ten, we were being told to do so because we were doing too much … being too busy … acting too wild. These three words served as instruction and if teeth were clenched as the instruction was spoken, we also knew it was a warning, and in our best interest to heed.
Times have changed, but the meaning of the three words has not. Within the last few years, “have a seat” has held the meaning that we are doing too much and being too busy. The additive is that most times the busyness and “too much” that we’re doing concerns what doesn’t or shouldn’t concern us. It’s a matter of being extra or too involved.
Ah, but I add another meaning to the three words, that I ask us to consider.
Because we are doing too much and we are too busy, not in the childlike manner and not in the manner of being busybodies. We are running ourselves ragged, attempting to be everything to everybody. We are on this committee and in this group. We want to be seen at this place and heard on this platform. However, we need to pay attention to the three words and HAVE A SEAT.
This seat is called self care. The Bible calls it Sabbath. It’s when God took rest after having created the heavens, earth, all living creatures and beings in Genesis 2:2. It’s when Jesus had moments when He would go ahead of the crowd or when He attempted to nap on the boat in Mark 4:38.
This seat called self care is one we need to take without being told. It’s the seat of opportunity that allows us to reset and recharge. It’s an opportunity for us to be restored. It’s an opportunity for us to hear ourselves think. It’s an opportunity for us to be still and know. In these still moments of knowing, we come into greater knowledge of God, greater clarity of our purpose and greater levels of thankfulness for moments to simply do nothing.
I know that may look and even feel odd … to do nothing … to take a social media break … to not answer the phone or the door … to say no. But it is necessary. It’s necessary because though we think we are superheroes and supersheroes, we are human. As humans, we need time to rest. We need time to think about the goodness of the day, whether that goodness in the form of what was pleasurable or what was beneficial. We need time to just be.
That’s what the Sabbath is about. It is intentional time taken to just be.
When was the last time you allowed yourself such a luxury? You didn’t answer fast enough, which means it’s been too long. We’re not going to miss out on anything by taking adequate time for ourselves. The time we take will allow us to be better to ourselves and to others around us. The Sabbath is good, in that it is pleasurable and it is beneficial.
So the next time someone offers you those three words, don’t be offended. Thank them, let them know you gladly will and go ahead and HAVE A SEAT!
Contact Rev. Rae Karim, Christian Theological Seminary, at rkarim@cts.edu.
