John Stanko

"But in the seventh year the land is to have a year
of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow
your fields or prune your vineyards" - Leviticus 25:4.

Israel had to raise its own food and livestock, thus the Bible gave instructions about how to cooperate with God's laws of creation in order to be successful. One of the concepts was to give land rest, allowing to lay fallow, once it had been farmed for seven years. This 'sabbath' rest was not legalistic, that somehow the land had to stay inactive for one year to please the Lord for some reason known only to God. The land had earned the rest after seven years of use, and the year off gave it a chance to be replenished. Leaders must keep in mind that they cannot keep themselve or their teams running at a frenetic pace - at some point, each component of the business needs to shut down and take some time off in order to function effectively.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Today it's time to assess how long you have been going hard at work to see if you have 'earned' some additional time off. How many years have you been working with only minimal breaks and vacation? In academia, it is permissible to take a sabbatical and you need to consider doing the same. Be creative and find a way to take off a month, or two or six, and use that time to replenish what's been lost in your tendency to work long and hard.