Order and Leisure
In
his book, "The Roots of American Order," Russell Kirk draws a
comparison between the soul of a country and the soul of an individual.
He argues that just as a nation must have order as its foundation, so
must we have order in our souls as the foundation of our lives.
"Order
is the first need of the soul. It is not possible to love what one
ought to love, unless we recognize some principles of order by which to
govern ourselves. Order is also the first need of the commonwealth. It
is not possible for us to live in peace with one another, unless we
recognize some principle of order by which to do justice." Josef Peiper,
in his book "Lesiure: the Basis of Culture" writes of the method by
which to gain an orderly soul: cultivating an attitude and habit of
leisure, not leisure as our modern culture defines it, but leisure as a
regular contemplative time to seek peace and God.
"If God is purposeful, consciously willing, intelligent, just, and redeeming--why, then man is foolish if he does not seek to know this Being: to understand the human condition, one tries to know God." -Russell Kirk
"Leisure stands opposed to the exclusive ideal of work qua social function. A break in one's work, whether of an hour, a day or a week, is still part of the world of work. It is a link in the chain of utilitarian functions. The pause is made for the sake of work and in order to work, and a man is not only refreshed from work but for work. Leisure is an altogether different matter; it is no longer on the same plane; it runs at right angles to work...And therefore leisure does not exist for the sake of work--however much strength it may give a man to work; the point of leisure is not to be a restorative, a pick-me-up, whether mental or physical; and though it gives new strength, mentally and physically, and spiritually too, that is not the point." Leisure is a gift that God has given to man; a time to rest our bodies and minds and to quietly contemplate Him. It is what we were made for; to seek Him and come to know Him. To glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Once a week, He has given us an entire day to do this in. This is His gift to us: It is our chance to seek the God we were made for, our chance to take part in our chief end. Let us not scorn that gift or push it aside for the sake of the tasks that the other six days are for. Let us not squander our gift on thoughtless entertainment. Let us focus the mind and heart on our Creator, let us fill ourselves with Him, and let us for a moment, partake in eternity.
Order as a way of life is a strong theme throughout the readings of the past few weeks. This is why. Our culture has taken the order of the soul and substituted it with chaos. We have taken the gift of seeking God in leisure and twisted it into self-centered sloth or "down-time", or worse, replaced the time of rest with more activities.
As always, Schaff says it best: "In the gospel dispensation the Sabbath is not a degradation, but an elevation, of the week days to a higher plane, looking to the consecratoin of all time and all work. It is not a legal ceremonial bondage, but rather a precious gift of grace, a privilege, a holy rest in God in the midst of the unrest of the world, a day of spiritual refreshing in communion with God and in the fellowship with the saints, a foretaste and a pledge of the never-ending Sabbath in heaven."
The disordered soul is lost, and it's looking in all the wrong places.
Teach us to order our loves.
Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Teach us to love You, Lord.
"If God is purposeful, consciously willing, intelligent, just, and redeeming--why, then man is foolish if he does not seek to know this Being: to understand the human condition, one tries to know God." -Russell Kirk
"Leisure stands opposed to the exclusive ideal of work qua social function. A break in one's work, whether of an hour, a day or a week, is still part of the world of work. It is a link in the chain of utilitarian functions. The pause is made for the sake of work and in order to work, and a man is not only refreshed from work but for work. Leisure is an altogether different matter; it is no longer on the same plane; it runs at right angles to work...And therefore leisure does not exist for the sake of work--however much strength it may give a man to work; the point of leisure is not to be a restorative, a pick-me-up, whether mental or physical; and though it gives new strength, mentally and physically, and spiritually too, that is not the point." Leisure is a gift that God has given to man; a time to rest our bodies and minds and to quietly contemplate Him. It is what we were made for; to seek Him and come to know Him. To glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Once a week, He has given us an entire day to do this in. This is His gift to us: It is our chance to seek the God we were made for, our chance to take part in our chief end. Let us not scorn that gift or push it aside for the sake of the tasks that the other six days are for. Let us not squander our gift on thoughtless entertainment. Let us focus the mind and heart on our Creator, let us fill ourselves with Him, and let us for a moment, partake in eternity.
Order as a way of life is a strong theme throughout the readings of the past few weeks. This is why. Our culture has taken the order of the soul and substituted it with chaos. We have taken the gift of seeking God in leisure and twisted it into self-centered sloth or "down-time", or worse, replaced the time of rest with more activities.
As always, Schaff says it best: "In the gospel dispensation the Sabbath is not a degradation, but an elevation, of the week days to a higher plane, looking to the consecratoin of all time and all work. It is not a legal ceremonial bondage, but rather a precious gift of grace, a privilege, a holy rest in God in the midst of the unrest of the world, a day of spiritual refreshing in communion with God and in the fellowship with the saints, a foretaste and a pledge of the never-ending Sabbath in heaven."
The disordered soul is lost, and it's looking in all the wrong places.
Teach us to order our loves.
Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Teach us to love You, Lord.
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