I believe that the majority of leaders in my generation grew up with a distorted vision of rest. It is little surprise then, that burnout, poor mental health, relationship problems and disillusionment are rife among us. The remedy (at least in part) to these issues is an appealing and highly available commodity; yet it remains a ‘dirty word’ in the corridors of the busy (if not the productive). ‘Rest’: there, I said it.
I cannot remember exactly where I first heard the phrase, ‘There is no rest for the wicked.’ Most likely it was while my bedroom curtains were being thrown open and the dog unleashed to lick my sleepy teenage face. I cannot blame my loving parents. If it was them, it was probably said with a smile. Even so, it is a phrase that we are quick to absorb; we ‘the wicked’ should live lives of grateful labour in which rest is an awkward necessity, if not an out-and-out luxury.
It seems the greatest irony that such a damaging idiom should have its roots in Isaiah 57:20-21. Like many idioms, its meaning is a brazen distortion of the original text: ‘“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.’ (New Living Translation)
