I remember a few years ago hearing about pastors like John Piper encouraging Christians to think about retirement from a biblical perspective rather than the way our culture often views it: not as a season to simply do whatever we want, but as a new phase of life to continue serving and honoring God. If you want to see John Piper’s thoughts on this topic, I recommend his short book Rethinking Retirement, which you can download (for free!) here.

I’ve recently been wondering if we need to have some similar conversations when it comes to the topic of vacations, especially in this season of the year in which many people go on some sort of vacation (and my family just got back from one). What insight – if any – does the Bible offer us on the topic of vacations. Should Christians take vacations? If so, what are ways that we can use vacations to honor and glorify God?

I haven’t seen a lot written on this topic, so I want to offer some preliminary thoughts that have come to mind from reading the thoughts of a few other people and taking some time over these past few weeks to ponder this topic.

Passages about Vacations
If you search for the word “vacation” in the Bible, your results will come up empty. You also won’t find Jacob rounding up the kids to go to Universal Studios Canaan or Joseph and Mary taking Jesus and his brothers to Disney of Galilee. While those facts may make you think that vacations thus are “unbiblical,” I don’t think the absence of the word or our picture of vacations means this is the case for a couple of reasons.

First are the much different cultural dynamics that exist between our time and Bible times. They did not have the same sort of access to transportation and technology that we do today. The nature of their world is also different from many of our vocations today, and even those that might be engaged in the same sort of industry experience them in a much different way due to shifts in technology. We don’t read about the internet in the Bible or someone reading a blog, but we don’t consider it unbiblical to use the internet to read things like what I am posting!

Second is that we see many of the things that we seek to do on vacation within the Bible. The idea of taking a break from one’s vocational endeavor is something that we see modeled by God in the account of creation, as He rests on the seventh day, and one that we see commanded in the Bible in the Ten Commandments. Thus, there is a weekly “vacation” day that God commands for us to have! Extended vacations should never take the place of that but rather need to be alongside that weekly break. Not only is there a weekly break, there is also a daily break from work that we see in Scripture and in our world called “sleep” that we should not overlook.

We also see references in the Bible to other times of rest alongside the daily break of sleep and the weekly rest of Sabbath. For example, we read about Jesus going away with his disciples for rest in Mark 6:31; this does not seem to be a Sabbath day or a festival day, but rather a recognition of the need to recharge after a time of work in ministry. In addition to that example, we also see the Old Testament speaks of a monthly day alongside the Sabbath (new moon) and there is a specific month marked by numerous religious festivals, during which people would rest from their labor and even travel to Jerusalem (it was the seventh month in the calendar of Israel). The Old Testament law for Israel also featured a Sabbath year of rest for the land every seven years. While those particular regulations would not carry over into the New Testament age, I think they point at least to the allowance for additional times of rest. These examples may also help us think through how we should approach such times.

Purposes of Vacation
Too often in life, we do things without thinking about the broader purpose or rationale behind our actions.This can be true of our vacations; we plan a vacation or go on the vacation simply because that is what we see everyone else doing and then go and do likewise. Before you plan a vacation, it is wise to think through why it is that we are doing it.

One thing that vacations teach and remind me is that my work is important but that I am not essential and the world does not stop without me. Work is not inherently bad or evil, as it is a gift from God and part of what He made us to do, but we need to know that it is not ultimate and that we are not ultimate. Thus, taking time off of work for more than the Sabbath day is a tangible reminder of this and points us back to trusting God, not ourselves, and worshipping Him, not our work.

As I thought through Bible passages related to this topic of vacation, I realized another purpose of vacation may be to remember God’s work and give Him thanks for it. This does mean that our vacations are simply church services (though it is a good reminder that our vacation probably should not get in the way of worshiping our God), but that traveling to see something in our world like a lake, ocean, or mountain should remind us of the one who made it. Even traveling to something that has been created by humans is a way for us to remember God in the sense that we celebrate the creativity and ingenuity of those who have been made in His image. 

While travel can be something we do on vacation that reminds us of God, we don’t necessarily need to travel anywhere on a vacation to do so. When we spend extra time together with our family members, what we are doing is recognizing our family as a gift from God that He has placed in our lives.

Potential Pitfalls of Vacation
My conclusion on the question of whether Christians can take vacations is that there is nothing inherently wrong with it and that we can use our vacations as opportunities to glorify God and love our neighbors. That said, there are also ways that I think our vacations can dishonor God. As stewards, Christians should seek God’s guidance on how much to spend on vacations, avoiding putting ourselves into debt for these experiences and also thinking if the amount spent in this area hinders one’s ability to invest in God’s kingdom and bless others with the funds that God has entrusted into one’s care. Are you seeking God’s kingdom first with your finances or seeking our vacation first and giving God what is left?

Another danger about vacation is more or less “living for it” rather than for God. Do we value our vacation more than we value God? God calls for us to work and to rest so we should see both as important; we don’t work so that we can rest but actually rest so that we can then work more effectively. Thus we should not “work for the weekend” or “work for vacation” but see each element (work and rest/play) as opportunities to glorify God.

I’m sure there are other pitfalls out there, but a final one that I want to highlight is how vacation can end up not being restful. Perhaps we have all heard or said the statement, “I need a vacation from my vacation.” If we feel this way, I wonder if we are “vacationing” right, as it is meant to bring some refreshment to our lives. Some of this exhaustion can come from being on a trip that is “go-go-go,” so perhaps what we need to do is build in a Sabbath day so that we get a rest in the midst of our activity on the vacation.

The Privilege of Vacation
As I reflected upon this question of whether and how Christians should take vacations, I recognized that in many ways this is a question that many Christians throughout the world and throughout history have not really pondered because their circumstances preclude the opportunity to travel to different places or take time away from the routines of their daily life. Therefore, Christians that can travel and are granted extended time away from work by their employers should acknowledge and recognize that privilege and blessing that others do not have. While there is a sense that these opportunities may seem to arise from employers, technology, and economical factors, we should look beyond those to the God from whom all blessings flow. In doing so, we are reminded not to neglect the weekly vacation day that God calls for us to take to rest from our labors and remember that He never slumbers or sleeps but is always working for our good, bestowing gifts like rest and sleep upon the people He made in His image.

Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible translations are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.