This is the third in our 3 part series of 10 lessons we all can learn from the Story of Creation. (See the archives for Parts 1 & 2.) In Part 2 we discussed the lessons 4-7. Here we will propose the final 3 lessons.

Lesson 8:Turn off your cell phone!

Are you a 24/7 type person? Always ready at a moments notice to stop what you are doing and head back to the office when the boss calls. Do you never take a vacation for more than 3 days less the office will fall apart. Do you think calling in sick when you have the flu and a temperature of 103 will reflect on your man/womanhood? Is your cell phone always on? Is your beeper implanted in your ear lobe? Is your office phone programmed to reach you although you may be in Yellowstone Park shooting photos of grizzly bears?

WOAH! Stop and think! Are you Mishuga? (the Yiddish word for "nuts")? No way should you or anyone live like that. Besides getting ulcers or worse, you're cheating your soul of needed downtime; quiet; rest; renewal.

I learned this from a painful experience when I worked 24/7 for over a year and a half on software I was writing, I soon started to making mistakes, and worse, made bad decisions, that ultimately caused me twice as much work and eventual business failure. So even if you take off Wednesdays and just spend the day golfing, your energy will be renewed and your chances of success will increase exponentially.

Explanation: That is why God gave humankind the gift of the Sabbath. Now He did so at creation! There were no Jews, no Christians, no Moslems at that time. Only the Lord and his hosts. But He rested and hallowed and sanctified the Seventh day!

Of course, if you are of the Jewish faith, it would be good to start keeping Sabbath (beginning Friday evening, until Saturday night) to rest and gain renewal from all your weekday toil. You will get an extra blessing from the Lord, since it is part of His covenant with us. And I guarantee, even if you do nothing (for example, not thinking about the projects you are involved with for those 24 hours), everything will still get done on or before schedule.

You say you're in your own business and Saturday is your best day. Can you prove it? Bet not! Here's an experiment. The next 4 weeks, keep track of your weekly sales. Then close Saturday for 4 weeks and open Sunday instead. (If you are already open 7 days, just close your store Saturday.) Then, compare sales. I will give you 10 to 1 they will actually increase during the month you were closed on Saturday. But even if sales are about the same, think of what you gained! An extra day of life for a few dollars or less!

As for me, I no longer think about secular projects I am working on, even if they are worthy (like writing The Guide To Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities In Iowa that I completed as a volunteer 2003) and/or I am not getting paid. And, no surprise, I still manage to get everything done on time.

And by the Seventh Day God completed His work; that which He had created. And He rested on the Seventh Day from all His work. And God blessed the Seventh Day and hallowed it; because in it He rested from His creating that which He had made. (Genesis 2:2)

You're a nice, intelligent person and someone asks you for technical help: fixing a computer glitch, a printer that is jammed, changing a tire; or filling out the capital gains schedule during tax season. You're happy to help, so you unjam the printer, get the computer started, change the tire, or gather the stock market transactions and fill out the form. They thank you and you're out of there.

Think for a moment! Would it not be better to take a few minutes extra time to teach them how to do it. First, they won't need to bother you when the same thing happens again. Second you will make them feel good by learning a new skill, which helps build self-esteem. And if you take the extra time to teach them to be self-reliant so they can help themselves in the future, you will be surprised how good you will feel. It is a win-win situation!

Explanation: By giving vegetation, birds, fish, animals, and ultimately mankind the ability to reproduce themselves on their own, God does not have to be constantly "rebirthing" everyone and everything every second--not that He is incapable of doing so.

So the next time someone asks you for help, remember: And God blessed them; and God said unto them 'Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.' (Genesis 1:28.)

Keep your ego in check. For no matter how successful you may be in whatever field, academia, the arts, fashion, sports, business; be thankful to the Lord and remember He gave you the gifts of intelligence, creativity, good looks, a good body, or good horse sense that allows you to achieve success. Pride and pretense is bad policy and gives out bad karma. Always remember your blessings come from God--although you may earn them by your good deeds and hard work.

Explanation: Aside from what was stated earlier (Deuteronomy 30:11-14), here is a test of your perceptive ability. Read the following Biblical passages and see if you can figure out why having humility is a lesson from Creation.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind...and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God created the great sea-monsters and every living creature that creepeth, where with the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind, and God saw it was good. And God made the beast of the earth after its kind and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind and God saw it was good. And God created man...male and female created He them. (Genesis 1:11-27)

Notice anything peculiar, anything missing? Take a few minutes before reading on.

STOP!!!     TAKE 15 MINUTES TO USE YOUR NOODLE

CONTINUE

God did NOT say it "was good" after he created us, Mankind. But he did so after creating vegetation on Day 3, fish and birds on Day 5, and the land animals at the beginning of Day 6. Does it not tell us something? A coincidence? I doubt it! I rest my case!