Work v. Play
If you grew up in a Jewish or Christian household, you've heard the phrase "keep holy the sabbath" before. For both religions, a big part of this is to not do work on one day of the weekend. For Jews, this is Saturday; for Christians, this is Sunday (the Lord's Day). For the sake of keeping things easily readable and as accurate as I can write them, I'm going to continue this post from the Christian tradition. Side note: if the difference in days piques your interest, check out this passage of a book that chronicles the history of the Christian Sunday (and partially inspired this post) or this article. From the outset, this command seems pretty simple. Don't clock in to your job on a Sunday, or if you're a student, don't do your homework on a Sunday. Of course, there are some exceptions like nurses, firemen, police officers, etc. But, for most of us, we aren't exempt from the "no work" command.
I know there might not seem to be much more to discuss. But, the "no work" thing refers to more than just your occupation. It also includes housework.
So, the way I see it, there are some useful ways to figure out if you're doing work or not. First off, do you enjoy what you're doing? Does it feel like toil or rest and rejuvenation? Secondly, what's the primary purpose? Are you doing something for the sake of doing it or is there something more to it? For example, if your hobby is to woodworking, I don't think that would qualify as work because the reason for engaging in the activity is more because you enjoy the process. Especially when it's a project done as a gift for someone else, like my grandpa making me a wall decoration I had drafted up.
Another thing to take note of is what constitutes fulfilling relaxation versus just filling time. The point of setting aside Sunday as a day of rest is not to stare at a wall or mindlessly binge Netflix for hours on end. According to St. John Paul II,
You might come back and say that just isn't possible in this day and age. I'd like to challenge that. I know from experience that many of us treat Saturdays more or less in this way. Or we'd spread out our household chores over the two days of the weekend so that leisure time is present on both days. It seems impossible to treat Sundays like this because we aren't used to it and probably haven't seen this modeled for us. We aren't used to managing our time to make this possible. I'd also propose that many of us don't know how to spend an entire day resting. Maybe if we're on vacation somewhere we can, but we don't know how to do that when we're at home. As a case in point, I tried to search Pinterest for an infographic on things you can do on a Sunday. When I specified to not include the word "productive," I only got lists of things to do while traveling. Same goes for when I changed it to "things to do with free time." This just tells me that I have another potential topic for a future blog post. ;)
With all of that, don't sweat it too much if you're not sure if what you're doing qualifies as work or not. Set out with the intent for your activity to be for the sake of enjoyment and be real with yourself if you come to find you are treating it more as a task. If that becomes the case, just change activities. Your Sunday turn out to be anything but restful? That's ok. You've got another opportunity next week. Even when it comes to having a day of rest, practice makes perfect.
I know there might not seem to be much more to discuss. But, the "no work" thing refers to more than just your occupation. It also includes housework.
On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to assist at Mass. They are also to abstain from such work or business that would inhibit the worship to be given to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, or the due relaxation of mind and body (canon 1247).You might ask me how that makes sense from that excerpt. 'Business' refers to a person's job. 'Work' refers to "activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result," according to dictionary.com. I don't know about you, but that leaves me asking, "If that is work, then what isn't?" That's where antonyms come in handy (yay, English class!). The opposite of work is play, so here's dictionary.com's definition of 'play': "engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose."
So, the way I see it, there are some useful ways to figure out if you're doing work or not. First off, do you enjoy what you're doing? Does it feel like toil or rest and rejuvenation? Secondly, what's the primary purpose? Are you doing something for the sake of doing it or is there something more to it? For example, if your hobby is to woodworking, I don't think that would qualify as work because the reason for engaging in the activity is more because you enjoy the process. Especially when it's a project done as a gift for someone else, like my grandpa making me a wall decoration I had drafted up.
Another thing to take note of is what constitutes fulfilling relaxation versus just filling time. The point of setting aside Sunday as a day of rest is not to stare at a wall or mindlessly binge Netflix for hours on end. According to St. John Paul II,
In order that rest may not degenerate into emptiness or boredom, it must offer spiritual enrichment, greater freedom, opportunities for contemplation and fraternal communion. Therefore, among the forms of culture and entertainment which society offers, the faithful should choose those which are most in keeping with a life lived in obedience to the precepts of the gospel (Dies Domini 68).Essentially, he's saying to do your best to have a joyful day every Sunday for the enrichment of your soul. Spend time with friends and family, engage with the faith in more ways than just going to church, go out and enjoy the world God has gifted us with in a way that is oriented toward Him. Have a day where all you have to do is be.
You might come back and say that just isn't possible in this day and age. I'd like to challenge that. I know from experience that many of us treat Saturdays more or less in this way. Or we'd spread out our household chores over the two days of the weekend so that leisure time is present on both days. It seems impossible to treat Sundays like this because we aren't used to it and probably haven't seen this modeled for us. We aren't used to managing our time to make this possible. I'd also propose that many of us don't know how to spend an entire day resting. Maybe if we're on vacation somewhere we can, but we don't know how to do that when we're at home. As a case in point, I tried to search Pinterest for an infographic on things you can do on a Sunday. When I specified to not include the word "productive," I only got lists of things to do while traveling. Same goes for when I changed it to "things to do with free time." This just tells me that I have another potential topic for a future blog post. ;)
With all of that, don't sweat it too much if you're not sure if what you're doing qualifies as work or not. Set out with the intent for your activity to be for the sake of enjoyment and be real with yourself if you come to find you are treating it more as a task. If that becomes the case, just change activities. Your Sunday turn out to be anything but restful? That's ok. You've got another opportunity next week. Even when it comes to having a day of rest, practice makes perfect.
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