All Weekly Sharpening Posts

January 26, 2023

Don’t Stab Yourself in Your Sleep

Intrigued by the monastic life, I’ve been reading a short book called “The Rule of St. Benedict.”  Benedict lived in sixth-century Italy when the Roman empire was disintegrating.  He was a celebrated holy man and established 12 monasteries.  Benedict’s Rule “offered definitive direction and established an ordered way of life that gave security and stability” in the monasteries.  There are 73 chapters describing the rules, and while some are outdated in the modern world, there is a principle behind them that inspires holiness and obedience.

Chapter 22 outlines the “Sleeping Arrangements of the Monks.”  Here I learned: They sleep clothed and girded with belts or cords; but they should remove their knives, lest they accidentally cut themselves in their sleep.  Thus, the monks will always be ready to arise without delay when the signal is given; each will hasten to arrive at the Work of God before the others, yet with all dignity and decorum.

I’m not suggesting that we all sleep in the clothes we plan to wear the next day.  But I do agree that we should “arise without delay…and hasten to arrive at the Work of God.”

Is this how you start your day?

What attitude do you have when the signal is given?

Do you arise without delay or hit the snooze button multiple times?

What does it say about your faith when you wake up unmotivated for the day?

Consider Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Do you begin your day with rejoicing?  Are you glad that THIS is the day the Lord created in advance for you to live in?

God has a plan for you this day!  And every day!  What difference would it make if you woke with a sense of excitement or anticipation for what the Lord was going to do in you and through you every morning?

Yes, I recognize that some days are harder than others.  No doubt, some days will be painful.  But knowing that the Creator of the universe is walking with us should change how we view each day.

Men, let’s arrive at the Work of God with all dignity and decorum, recognizing that the “Work of God” will be different for all of us, but Kingdom work all the same!

Just don’t sleep with your knife on.