The Exodus command, with its call to imitation, plays on a hidden irony:  we mimic God in order to remember we are not God.

In fact, that is a good definition of Sabbath: imitating God so that stop trying to be God. ~ Mark Buchanon, The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath

Those two sentences in Buchanon’s book can be quite convicting. I realized that I’m often guilty of believing I can’t stop.

I can’t slow. I can’t rest because if I do important things will not get done. By pushing and racing and engaging in this frantic lifestyle of our culture I lost sight of my own humanity, I became my own idol.

I began to think of myself as indispensible, irreplaceable.

Truthfully, as more than I am.

Believing myself so significant led to several attitudes and behaviors that were most unbecoming such as pride, selfishness, hautiness. And, the attitude that most bothers me to see in the mirror, a real blindness to others.

Often the most devastating consequence of this lifestyle of rushing is a loss of humanity. The busier we are, the more we become consumed with ourselves. And, truthfully, it doesn’t matter if the busy is work or family or church or community. Busy is busy. And it will always cost us something.

We are called to rest not only for our physical and emotional well-being, but also for our spiritual growth. When we slow, our eyes are opened and we are able to truly see. How often did Jesus say, “He who has eyes let him see …”

We all have eyes but we don’t all have seeing eyes.

I’ve learned to check my eyes by checking my “I’s.” The more I’m worried about myself and my agenda and my plans and my desires, the less my eyes are working the way God intended, the less I’m seeing. We must learn to rest, to Sabbath, in order to keep our focus on God.

It’s been said, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” But in this instance, I believe imitation is the key to continued growth. Only by imitating God, by following His path, can we mature in Him. And, for many of us, that must begin with laying down self and taking up Sabbath.

Teri Lynne Underwood is a writer, speaker, and blogger who longs to connect the hearts of women with the heart of God.   She writes daily at www.terilynneu.com where she encourages lives where the sacred and secular collide.