Rest is often treated like the opposite of work—and we’re encouraged to work all of the time. And if rest is not working, and working hard is virtuous, we treat rest as unvirtuous, slothful, a sin.

It doesn’t seem to matter that Sabbath is a commandment: that rest, not work, is commanded of us. Nor are we terribly inclined to treat rest as virtuous, redemptive, or a source of genuine opportunity.

To say that American culture is mixed up about rest and work is an understatement. It is our sense of rest as optional or other from work, however, that causes the most confusion.

Because there is no either/or here.

We don’t get to work every hour or take pride in our overwork when others struggle. We mustn’t pretend that these two oppose each other. They commune with each other. They dance together and reflect a harmony of a common life.

Rest and work are not opposing forces, but reflect a singular identity of living.