not enough sleep & too much sleep

Hi!

I hope none of you are missing the excellent comments on the last three posts about Shopping for Time. Thank you so much for sharing your own thoughts, tips, and habits with us. You are a cool resource. :)

(To access any post complete with all its comments to date, simply click on the title of the post, then scroll down to the bottom to work your way through the comments. This is probably easier than clicking on people's names over in the sidebar, which just takes you to each particular comment.)

Before we move onto Tip #3 in Shopping for Time, I wanted to clarify that neither the book nor I are advocating sleep deprivation in suggesting that some of us might need to start rising earlier to best spend time with God and serve our families.  

The Biblical model for sleep seems to be that (1) we need it and (2) we should get it. :)  As busy as Jesus was, He got His sleep. He took naps sometimes, too. Remember Mark 4:35-41, when Jesus calms the storm?

On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. 

And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

There isn't anything in this passage to suggest that Jesus went to sleep for the dramatic effect of then waking up and wowing His disciples with a miracle.  He was just taking a nap. 

And scripture recognizes sleep as not just necessary, but pleasurable. For example, in Proverbs 3:24:

My son, do not lose sight of these — keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Sleep is a good gift from God, and any schedule or routine you devise for yourself should include getting enough sleep.  If you need to stay up until 11, for example, to have the time with your husband or do some particular task, I don't think you need to be worrying about getting up at 5 AM.  The admonition to rise early carries the assumption that you can get to bed at a reasonable hour!  

If you do have some discretion over the hours you keep, and sense that your priorities might best be served by getting to bed earlier and getting up earlier, then maybe you should do that. :) (It does sound like several of us are thinking through our status as "nightowls" right now.)

That said, I think our Cathy made an excellent point when she said that sleep can become an idol in our lives. I know that it has been one of mine. I am deeply in love with my pillow and my blanky and my mattress. :) 

As with anything, I think we need to always be open to the Holy Spirit and to "disruptions" in our routine that are actually life itself, rather than what we think of as "disruptions". (Our routines can become idols, too! A routine is there to serve you and help you be disciplined. It's not there to run your life and make you an inflexible robot who never listens to God.)

There are a lot of Bible verses warning against being too fond of sleep. If you thought Martha Peace was blunt, read this passage from Proverbs 6. Ha ha. :D

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

And Proverbs 20:13 says:

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

And just ten chapters after Jesus fell asleep on the boat and His disciples complained that He didn't care that they were perishing, look what they themselves did as Jesus faced His death:

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 

And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.

And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."

As Cathy commented from her own experience, God is able to give us rest even when we are being physically deprived of sleep.  

He is always able to give us what we need -- time, rest, resources -- to do what He wants us to do.

So we can glorify God by sleeping (good sleeping should be our "norm"), and keeping good hours and resting our bodies unless there's a valid reason not to.

And we can glorify God by not sleeping (which should not be our "norm", but which will sometimes happen for good and Godly reasons), and by not making an idol of sleep.

Next time we'll talk about taking a personal retreat to sit and plan. :)

Stay tuned!