Genesis 2

As God rested on the seventh day, so too did He, in the Ten Commandments, instruct humans to rest on the Sabbath. In our work-obsessed culture, rest is often seen as indolent, a waste of time and productivity. As for me, I have no trouble with resting if it involves wasting time. But God used the day of rest to reflect upon and admire His creation. Thus, the rest of a Christian should be Christ-focused. When I rest, I just want to loaf around, read, listen to music, or watch a movie, so I've still got ample room to improve.

I like how in verse 12, the author makes a parenthetical aside about the fascinating geological resources of Havilah. Not only is there gold, there's resin and onyx (or is it Onix?) as well. And it's not just your everyday, prosaic gold--it's great gold. Make sure you memorize that verse for Sunday school, kids!

Now that I've gotten the flippancy over with, I'll come to the verse that struck me. Verse 18 says, "The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" I've always fancied myself a solitary fellow; for most of my time as a student, I didn't interact with a whole lot of people and never felt particularly depressed. An intensely shy person, I never initiated conversations and, for the most part, no one did likewise with me. I was never bullied, but, to quote Tim Burton, "It was as if I was exuding an aura that said, 'Leave Me The F*** Alone'" (Salisbury, 2). Which I was fine with; it wasn't until I graduated from college that I started thinking, "Hmm. Maybe it would be good for me to interact with people outside of my own family."

The details of that journey are too personal (and, frankly, too soporific) to put in a public post such as this, but as the Incredibles know, no man is an island. I haven't had any interactions that I would call truly cathartic--if only it were as easy as Robin Williams saying, "It's not your fault to you" ad infinitum. But at the very least, sharing experiences--many of them humorous--with friends has opened my eyes to how much I need to socialize, draining and daunting as it may be at times.

Maybe some people can live their whole lives as hermits, content not to interact with anyone. But God has slowly, inexorably led me out of my comfortable little nest into having conversations with others that at least approach normalcy on my part. In fact, as I look back, I'm amazed at how God has maneuvered me into positions and jobs that have forced me to talk to other people and actually derive enjoyment from them at times. It's definitely not the path I would have chosen for myself--I would be content with a job that just required me to write without interacting with anyone. Yet would I have developed these essential life skills if I had found a job that allowed such complacency on my part?

God is the master of the unexpected plot twists of life. But unlike the twists of M. Night Shyamalan, God's are edifying and actually make sense.

Works Cited:
Salisbury, Mark. Burton on Burton. Revised ed. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2006.