Ex 16:20:8-11 8 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

This commandment is very striking. Take note of the list of beings that get to rest. First it is all humans regardless of their social status and position: male and female, parents and children, masters and slaves; and citizens and foreigners. Second, not just humans but also animals: such as livestock. The reason for this goes back to Genesis 1. Because God rested and the 7th day is holy this is why everyone human and animal too must rest.

In our world today it is easy to get the impression that rest is a luxury: that you have to be rich to be able to “afford” that trip or that you work before you earn “vacation” time or that it is when you “retire” you can rest. The Bible in this passage tells us something different. Everyone no matter of status is required to rest because their rest is holy. All humans are equal in rest. Humans and working animals too are equal in their rest.

Say with me: It doesn’t matter my social status, financial status, or even what the Human Resource department says. God says I deserve rest. 

Ask yourself: How can I ignore the noise of the world and treat my rest as sacred activity today?