How Important Is The Sabbath?

Let me just close with some practical suggestions: #1) We need to do as much work as possible on days other than Sunday so that we can reserve that day for rest and worship. When I was growing up on the farm, the cows had to be fed and milked every day, including Sunday, but my Dad tried to make sure we didn't have to do other work that day. We didn't make hay or plow the fields on Sunday. So, don't save all your household projects for Sunday afternoon. Mow your lawn on Saturday, not Sunday. Do your homework on Saturday afternoon, not on Sunday. Last year a college student told me he was getting into the habit of not studying on Sunday, and was getting better grades. Yes, I think God will honor an effort to reserve a day for Him. If you have a job which sometimes requires Sunday work, try to minimize that. Don't take advantage of others, but if you can trade a shift and work Saturday and get next Sunday off, do it. Billy Graham once said, "Jesus tells us it is OK to help our ox out of the ditch on the Sabbath. But, if your ox gets in the ditch every Sabbath, you need to either get rid of the ox or fill up the ditch." Try to get done as much work as you can before Sunday.

#2) Limit recreational activities on Sunday. We tend to worship our play and play at our worship. A modest amount of recreation on Sunday is good. It is part of relaxing and getting the rest for which the Sabbath is designed. Yet, when we are addicted to our recreation, we miss the whole purpose of the day. Watching ten hours of football on Sunday, which can be done, noon to 10 p.m., is not keeping the Sabbath. Playing in any sport which requires you to frequently miss church on Sundays is not a good thing. Recently the NCAA ruled that college teams could not be required to play on Sundays in various tournaments. Good for them. It is OK to sometimes go fishing, golfing, hunting, or shopping on Sundays, but Sunday should never become our fishing, golfing, hunting, or shopping day. We must strive to keep it primarily a day for worship and rest. And that means we sometimes need to limit our recreational activities.

#3) We need to work at making Sunday special. There are many ways to do that, and most of you are much more creative than I am. But, I encourage you to develop ways for yourself and your family, besides going to church, which will make Sunday a unique day. Maybe you spend some extra time reading the Bible, or maybe you go for a drive in the country. But I think it is important that we don't treat Sunday like just another day. The Sabbath should be a very special day.

When Ben was a baby, his skin started to turn orange because he was eating too many carrots. Actually, it was Gerber's carrots, but the doctor said Ben needed more variety in his diet. No one has ever told me that I am eating too many carrots. It would be good for me to eat a lot more. When I read our text, it is almost like Jesus is scolding the Pharisees for eating too many carrots. They were placing far too much emphasis on the Sabbath. They needed to get some balance. But most of us today should take the Sabbath much more seriously. God established the day for our benefit. May He help us to learn to use the day in a way that would honor Him.

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