the sabbath rest

The second installment in the Declamation series. This is the thesis and the arguments for a 1,000 word paper due at the end of the term, woo hoo!

Propositio
Neglect of the Sabbatical rest leads to a lifestyle of laziness. Our sense of duty, work and rest must be rightly ordered after God’s. When we follow His ordinance in this area, the result is a balanced lifestyle, with both diligent work habits and healthy rest.

Confirmatio
Scripture commands that the followers of Christ observe the Sabbath day, and keep it holy (Deuteronomy 5:12). When we shirk this part of the command, we are often disregarding it’s precursor: six days you shall labor and do all your work (Exodus 20:9). If we obey this command, we are following God’s ordained order for rest and work, and He will not allow us to grow lax so long as we are faithful (Hebrews 3:14).
Sleeping is a suitable example: when we sleep nightly, as our bodies are meant to, we have successful, productive days. When we don’t sleep, we spend the entirety of the next day thinking about when we’ll be able to sneak in a nap. The Sabbath works like a full night of sleep, only better: rather than simply waking up refreshed and ready to face a day of work, we get to stay awake, and experience the rest God blesses us with on His Sabbath, to prepare us for a week of diligent service to our families, friends, employers, and Lord. By following His ways of rest, we avoid inventing our own and thus, avoid the inevitable laziness that follows getting only sporadic and untimely rest.