Pub Church - Week 10 - Sabbath?
This week we talked about how we observe the Sabbath.
Years ago there were "blue laws" that prohibited most businesses from taking place. You could pretty much just sell food & gas. In grocery stores, they would close off the isles that had general stuff. Only buying beer & wine after 12 noon and no hard liqueur are about all that is left of these laws.
So Sundays have pretty much turned into a regular business day like any other. There are a handful, such as Chick Fil-A that choose not to do business on Sunday. Sports teams used to leave Sunday & Wednesday off limits, but even some school districts have formal practices on Sunday afternoon now.
So how do we observe Sabbath? Or even why?
It comes from the original Big Ten, the 10 Commandments given to Moses. It is thought to be based on God resting after creating the universe, & earth, & everything.
For those of us in ministry, Sunday is a work day. I try to set aside time throughout the week to relax and spend some unencumbered God-time. But I am reconsidering my role in the church. I really don't care for the "business" of church. I've seen it get uglier within churches than any company I've worked for. It was cool when I was able to start doing youth ministry full time. But now I'm working toward being able to quit taking a paycheck & donate my ministry.
I've heard discussions of people observing the Sabbath by not doing anything that would cause someone else to have to work. That would mean, no shopping, no going out to eat, and would knock out a lot of traveling. Sherri gave me a column that told the story of a group of church-goers that went into a restaurant and told the server that they would not be tipping because they didn't believe in working on Sunday. I resist the urge to strangle such hypocrites. We've got to go beyond posing and talking a good game. For the most part, there is no discernible difference between Christians and those who are not of any faith. That is sad. We must do better.
Years ago there were "blue laws" that prohibited most businesses from taking place. You could pretty much just sell food & gas. In grocery stores, they would close off the isles that had general stuff. Only buying beer & wine after 12 noon and no hard liqueur are about all that is left of these laws.
So Sundays have pretty much turned into a regular business day like any other. There are a handful, such as Chick Fil-A that choose not to do business on Sunday. Sports teams used to leave Sunday & Wednesday off limits, but even some school districts have formal practices on Sunday afternoon now.
So how do we observe Sabbath? Or even why?
It comes from the original Big Ten, the 10 Commandments given to Moses. It is thought to be based on God resting after creating the universe, & earth, & everything.
For those of us in ministry, Sunday is a work day. I try to set aside time throughout the week to relax and spend some unencumbered God-time. But I am reconsidering my role in the church. I really don't care for the "business" of church. I've seen it get uglier within churches than any company I've worked for. It was cool when I was able to start doing youth ministry full time. But now I'm working toward being able to quit taking a paycheck & donate my ministry.
I've heard discussions of people observing the Sabbath by not doing anything that would cause someone else to have to work. That would mean, no shopping, no going out to eat, and would knock out a lot of traveling. Sherri gave me a column that told the story of a group of church-goers that went into a restaurant and told the server that they would not be tipping because they didn't believe in working on Sunday. I resist the urge to strangle such hypocrites. We've got to go beyond posing and talking a good game. For the most part, there is no discernible difference between Christians and those who are not of any faith. That is sad. We must do better.
posted by McHonza at 11:41 AM
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