You Woke Me Up at What Time?! Really?!

I must confess something.

I hate to get up early in the morning. I am, and always have been, a night owl. My mother tells me stories of how I would stay up all night as an infant, just wide-eyed and staring at her. I am sure she was exhausted and begging me to sleep! Even now, I would rather stay up into the early hours of the morning and then sleep until noon. I never much minded it. I thought that it was my duty as a writer. After all, it was just my creative personality! I could write all night.

Until I met my husband.

He is one of those frustratingly cheerful morning people. He gets up at around 4:30-4:45 every morning. He likes to get to work early. He likes to work hard. Suddenly, I felt very lazy.

My husband and I have decided that we want to have a Biblical reason for everything we do (not an easy task, but we are trying). Of course, I thought my sleep patterns had nothing to do with my faith, but I looked anyway.

Here's what I found:

In Proverbs 31, God makes it clear what a “wife of noble character” looks like:

¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.

The character we should be striving for is one of eagerness to work (which means without hesitation or complaint). We are to work tirelessly, early in the morning until late at night. While this does apply to women, it also applies to men as well. After all, in the model Jesus gives us, the church is His bride; therefore, this could be a metaphor for the Christian lifestyle.

Jesus himself modeled this behavior, as seen in Mark 1:35:

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,

Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,

where he prayed.

Jesus got up early in the morning. Perhaps He did this because He knew this was the only time He could find quiet time, or maybe He did this because He knew no one would bother Him. Whatever the reason, Jesus rose early in order to keep His priorities straight. Maybe this is the lesson. When we get up early in the morning and work all day long, we will stay on the intended path.

The Bible warns us to do this only for the right reasons (Isaiah 5:11):

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning

   to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
   till they are inflamed with wine.

And again, in Psalm 127:2:

² In vain you rise early
   and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
   for he grants sleep to those he loves.

The bottom line is this: we rise early and work hard because God wants us to. Ultimately, our work is futile; only God can provide what we need, but that does not give us license to be lazy, expecting to do nothing for the great reward we have been given. 

So, I am going to try this. Something new for 2011. Who knows? Maybe I'll find unexpected benefits to my new schedule. More time with God. More time with my husband. Less time feeling stressed because "I can't find enough time in my day."