Exodus 23:10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.”
The children of Israel were familiar with agriculture, but these were new ideas. God had a plan for productivity, saving, rest, sharing and enjoying the surplus.
Principle: Sabbaticals as a business principle benefit employers, employees and the community.
The cash flow reserves from six years of productivity followed by a year of rest could be used to do something creative. It’s a radical idea in this fast-track age. Some academic and religious organizations have a sabbatical policy and without shutting down or slowing down, use it as a refreshing benefit to their staff. Most businesses would never survive a seventh-year shutdown, but it might be a good idea every seventh year to take the profits for the year and benefit the poor in the community.
Involve the people in the company in this and give them paid time off to administer it. Keep it local. Benefit the old, the sick, the single parents, and the unemployed in your community. Involve the sabbatical employees in the planning as well as the execution. Use it as a principle to draw people’s attention to God, realizing also that it has plenty of built-in benefits.
One professional man I heard about took a sabbatical year. He laid bricks, planted trees, built cabinets, memorized poetry, learned Spanish, mastered a computer program, and hiked in the Sierras. His cholesterol dropped 100 points and his blood pressure 30. He felt good physically, his family seemed closer, and his professional practice improved.
While in Israel some time ago, I noticed some brown fields in the middle of miles of green fields. Farmers let the land rest once every seven years and in so doing renew the ground. By the way, if they decide to grow something on the 7th year, the products cannot be sold in Israel. Additionally stores, restaurants and movie theaters are all closed on the Sabbath. The buses don’t run. In spite of the war economy, the GNP of Israel, unemployment rate, and debt ratio are doing fine. Perhaps there are benefits to a day of rest.
Discussion:
1. Can you think of an industry, company, or organization where sabbaticals are practiced?
2. How is it working out for them?
3. What would be the problem of instituting a sabbatical policy in your company?
