A couple weeks ago, there was a big hoopty doo about the president of Chick-Fil-a voicing his company’s support of the traditional family, as defined in the Bible. It sparked a firestorm of back and forth’s between conservatives and liberals in all the major social media outlets…calling for boycotts and “buycotts” from both sides.
I’m not going into any more detail than that here today, but something occurred to me Sunday that got me thinking. As I left work Sunday morning, heading straight to church, I drove through another local restaurant (which shall remain unnamed) for the breakfast burrito combo. I wanted Chick-Fil-a, but it was Sunday. Gasp! They’re closed. They value the importance of the family, and of the family attending worship together, so much that they close the doors on Sunday. Awesome! I wish more companies would do that! That would be wicked cool to go back to a day in time when businesses all over town stayed closed on Sunday’s. Wait a minute. What about my breakfast?
I’m too young to remember a time in our nation’s history that businesses were closed on Sunday’s. My parents would remember, and my grandparents surely would. By the time I was old enough to notice these things, we could go the grocery store for milk on Sunday…pull into the gas station on Sunday night and fill up…go to a local restaurant after worship service and enjoy lunch. I’ve never known what it’s like to have to prepare for 6 days to be ready for self-sustainment on Sunday.
And yet, isn’t that what it would take to get other businesses to recognize the importance of a day of rest? If I (and millions of other customers) would simply not patronize businesses on Sunday, then sales would be so low on Sunday that they’d be losing money, and might…just maybe…recognize the “profit” in closing their doors for one day.
While I can’t be responsible for the other millions of people that movement would require, I can be responsible for me and my family. But in reality, is it worth it? Is it worth the effort it would take on my part to make such a drastic lifestyle change? I mean really…we do the after-church lunch thing…sometimes with friends. We’re rushed on Sunday nights, following services, and do the drive-thru to feed the kids before bed. I love going to the occasional football game (go Chiefs!) on Sunday afternoon. I enjoy patronizing the TV companies by watching the race or game in the afternoon (albeit while snoring most weeks). 🙂
Am I willing to give all that up? Am I willing to spend 6 days of the week planning for the 7th? Am I willing to just sit back and relax on Sunday and do nothing except worship and rest with my family? I don’t know…but wouldn’t it be hypocritical of me to not do just that? I’m not sure.
However, I do know that recognizing a day of Sabbath doesn’t have to be done on Sunday. It can be done on Monday, Tuesday, or any other day of the week. The day I choose as our day of rest may not be the day another family chooses. So if the day of week we do it doesn’t matter, does it really matter to take a day off at all?
It was important enough to God that He made it one of the top ten.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” – Exodus 8:8
It was important enough that He set the example himself.
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” – Exodus 20:11
It is important enough to God because it’s important to our health (spiritual, mental and physical). He provided a day to us for our benefit, not his…for rest…restoration…rejuvenation…relaxation…for worship…for deepening our fellowship with Him. It’s not for His sake we need a day off…it’s for ours.
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27
When we take a day from our hurried, fast-paced lives to refresh our spirit, to rest our minds and bodies and to fellowship with God, we recognize our dependence on Him…and we demonstrate how important God is to us. It’s not about when we do it. It’s about doing it. It’s not about what we eat for breakfast on Sunday morning…it’s not about the breakfast burrito at all. It’s about recognizing that God is God…and we are not.
Love,
Dad
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Food for thought: The Sabbath is Saturday. Christians traditionally take Sunday as their sabbath day because that is the day Jesus rose from the grave. In the early church, the first Christians (the Way…before they were called Christians) were Jews. So they’d go to the synagogue on Saturday and then, as Christians, would gather on Sunday. I’m pretty sure that’s the origin of the weekend but I’ll leave myself room to be wrong on this point.
But whenever this subject of the Sabbath comes up, as a Christian, I remember a couple verses:
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)
“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Rom 14:5-6)
All in all, I say “Take a day off each week: it’s a godly thing to do.”
Thank you for the insight. I was familiar with the second passage; did not recall the first. Great references. The history of the modern day weekend is interesting to know. Thanks for sharing. 🙂