HOLIDAYS

'It is doubtful whether holidays are good for us. Eight out of ten people work extra hours before going away. One in three finds the days before a holiday the most stressful of the year. Most say they feel as stressed as ever by the end of the first week back. When you pattern is 48 weeks work and four weeks rest then your holiday is everything. People speak as working for their holidays. Christmas letters typically consist of holiday itineraries. That is the the sum of people's lives. Life has become week after week of toil for two weeks in the sun.'

Tim Chester, The Busy Christian's Guide to Busyness, p.29.

HOLIDAYS

'Many see vacations as the end or purpose of work, and even of life itself. Their work earns a holiday; they then deserve a vacation. When they return from their two of three weeks, they hate the thought of going back to work; and they can hardly wait for the next set of holidays. By contrast, the Christian loves to serve. Ministry of all kinds is the end, the purpose; holidays are simply a means to that end. Far from serving in order to earn a rest, we take rests now and then in order to serve the better.'

DA Carson, When Jesus Confronts the World, p.110.