Sleep
When I consider the future, one of the things that I want most is to have time to do simple things like harvest the things I grow in the garden, have people over for dinner, and teach my own children. Choosing a lifestyle that allows enough time for sleep also sounds like a good idea! Perhaps if I have young children who keep me awake at night it would be a good idea to try to have a nap when they do, so that I don't struggle as much to be self controlled during the evening. When I am very overtired, it is so much easier to cry or get angry! Pop over to Felicity's blog for a great reminder of the importance of sleep. As Felicity says, sleep is God's gift to us. Even though the Bible warns against slothfulness, we should never feel guilty for making the time to get an appropriate amount of rest that enables us to give our best to God's Kingdom when we are busy and active.
Psalm 127 indicates that sleeping may be related to our trust in God:
"Unless the LORD builds the house
They labour in vain who build it,
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchmen stay awake in vain.
It is vain to rise up early,
To stay up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows,
For so he gives his beloved sleep."
If we trust that God is taking care of the world, we should be able to sleep peacefully.
Interestingly, the Westminster Larger Catechism includes "sober use of sleep" as a duty required under the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill."
That is very interesting. I can see the connection . . . if you don't sleep you are not taking care of yourself, which could be considered a form of self-harm that goes against the principle of protecting life that is set out in the 6th commandment. It is a very broad application, but a legitimate one me-thinks.