Isaiah 58:13-14
13 If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests or pursuing your own affairs;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
13 If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
If you’re from my generation, you probably remember a time when everything was closed on Sundays. I remember my Mom reminding my Dad to get gas on Saturday afternoon so we could drive to Grandma’s after church on Sunday. All the stores and restaurants were also closed on Sunday. There are still places where you can’t buy alcohol before noon on Sunday.
The intent behind these “blue laws” was pure. They were put in place to make sure that people didn’t abuse the Sabbath – that they weren’t tempted to concentrate on worldly things instead of God on Sunday. The problem is that you can’t legislate morality (or spirituality).
So now you can do anything on Sunday that you can do during the week. Great! We sure showed those puritanical busybodies that we can worship God and eat out!! But wait…
I often stop by the grocery store on my way home from church and we eat out every Sunday. This gives us a lovely Sabbath rest from cooking and cleaning-up. I sometimes enjoy going to the movies to unwind after a strenuous Sunday morning. But wait…
In order for me to relax at a restaurant or movie theater, someone else has to go to work. While I’m enjoying my enhanced Sabbath rest and recreation, countless others are working multiple jobs with no days off just to make ends meet.
Prayer: Lord God, you told us not to trample the Sabbath. Help me see and understand what honoring Sabbath for all your children really requires of me. AMEN