The Sunday Rules

We had some serious rules on Sundays, growing up. The TV was always off (unless it was sports). We never competed in an organized sporting event (unless it was in our backyard). We couldn’t go swimming even on the hottest summer days (we could run through the sprinkler). We never did any household chores (those needed to be done on Saturday). We never ate out or did any shopping (that would require others to work on Sunday to serve us). I’m sure there were many more things on the “we don’t do that on Sunday” list that I’ve since forgotten.

But, there was a long list of things that we did on Sunday that we didn’t do on other days of the week. We went to church for three to four hours: Sunday school, worship service, youth group, and Sunday night service. We usually ate a wonderful meal—typically pot roast with baked potatoes and mom’s “seven layer salad.” We often had company for Sunday lunch where mom got out her good dishes and we kids were on “be polite” alert. We played a lot of board games as a family with Christian programs on the radio in the background. Basically, on Sundays we were home and we were together. It was a special day of the week in our family. My parents called it the Lord’s Day and if we questioned the plan of the day, we were reminded of the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” They would explain that God had set apart one day a week for the nation of Israel to rest and focus their hearts and attention on him. They did Sabbath on Saturday, we do it on Sunday.

As I look back at my childhood Sundays, my memories are mixed. On one end, I loved Sundays. We had great food, time for a nap and lot of family time together. On the other end, there were just so many rules that didn’t make sense to me. And some of the rules seemed based on what other people would think if we would violate those rules. At times it felt we were protecting the perception of the Sabbath rather than the principle behind the commandment. To be honest, when I became an adult I rebelled against the traditional view of Sabbath rest. I tossed aside the rules of the Lord’s Day and claimed freedom. I didn’t care if my neighbor saw me mowing my grass and I refused to feel guilty if we decided to go to the baseball game or the movies on Sunday afternoon. But over time, I began to see some flaws in my new found philosophy. Sunday was beginning to look like every other day. Other than church, there was nothing holy or set apart in what we were doing. At times, Sundays got so busy that it felt like I needed to go back to work on Monday to get some rest.

Life, at times, is much like a swinging pendulum, isn’t it? We often respond to things in our past so strongly that we swing the pendulum too far and, again, miss the point that God was originally trying to make. That certainly happened to me in regards to my view of Sundays, Sabbath and rest. So, here are some Sabbath Rest principles that I’m now striving to find balance in.

1. After God created, he rested (Genesis 1). He didn’t rest because he was tired. He rested to step back and enjoy the outcome of his work. We need rest because we get tired, but we also need to model God’s character by slowing or stopping our activity to simply enjoy his goodness in our world and work.

2.We are commanded to set apart time to rest and connect with God (Exodus 20). If you had a friend that was involved in adultery, lying, coveting, dishonoring his parents, or worshipping idols, you may point them right back to the Ten Commandments. But for some reason, we look at the fourth commandment as just a good suggestion. I need to see it as God does, so important that he put it with nine other critical rules for living well. It’s in the Big Ten!

3.“Keeping it holy” simply means to set apart a day to make it unique from the other six. The objective is to find rest, reflection, and connection with God during this time. In that, there’s incredible freedom. We live within God’s principles but not under man’s rules for the Sabbath. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2.27) Sabbath rest is a gift to you from God.

4.Sabbath rest principles can be enjoyed every day. It’s good for us to take a Sabbath 30-Minutes during a busy day to rest, reflect, and connect with God. The benefits of Sabbath can be claimed anytime.

We are busy people, aren’t we? We have so many options in how we can use our time. Perhaps less is more when it comes to how we fill our calendar. This week schedule your Sabbath time. When will you slow down to rest, to reflect on God’s goodness and to quietly connect with him? Rest in his goodness as you slow down. Enjoy the break as you connect with God.