The Long-Lost Virtue of Honoring the Sabbath

Those of us growing up in the church were taught our whole lives to obey the Ten Commandments that Moses enumerated for us in the book of Exodus.

It’s easy to choose to live by those simply because the Bible says so — but do we know why this list of Ten Commandments is so pertinent to our daily lives? Why did God take Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai to command him about this specific list of what we must and must not do?

“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”

Let’s start with the Sabbath, as this commandment seems to be overlooked more than one might think. Exodus 20:8 tells us to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” The fourth commandment is the first one directly tied to our day-to-day living, as opposed to how we should view God (have no other gods, do not worship other images, do not take the Lord’s name in vain).  Remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy actually has quite a bit to do with how we view ourselves.

In our current culture, we bus, drive or walk our kids to school, to sports practice, to church activities, to family functions. Those of us without kids work all day, often coming home to activities and then even more work. In our American culture, it becomes a badge of honor to work around the clock, as if this signifies our worth in increasingly competitive environments. Technology has certainly changed things, too, blurring the lines between work and leisure time. We carry our phones, our laptops everywhere — and can work virtually anywhere, nonstop if we choose to. But is this what God wants for us?

The fourth commandment says no.

God spends the first three commandments laying out how we should honor and respect Him. This commandment shows His love and respect for us as human beings. The remaining five revolve around our relationships with others.

Related: How Friendship Can Promote Christian Unity

So what does this mean, then, that God lines up the commandments in the order of “God, self, others”? It is like the familiar parallel drawn between simple flight instructions on an airplane: Don’t try to assist others with their oxygen masks until you yourself have gotten your own mask secure.

A Sabbath is defined as an abstinence from work. For most Christians, this is observed on a Sunday, though the Bible does not clearly define which day should be chosen. And this is where it gets a bit more difficult. What is meant by “work”?

The word “work,” broken down, means any exertion of energy or effort to produce or accomplish something — a task. If our Sabbath day is to be holy or “set apart,” how do we set this day apart from the other six — and what’s in it for us?

A typical Sabbath consists of getting up and getting yourself and possibly your family ready for church. After church, you may head to a restaurant or go home to prepare a meal, after which you will clean. You may take a nap and then later begin preparing for the following Monday morning and getting back to work. Maybe there are a few tasks you forgot to complete on Saturday, or a project you’d completely forgotten about that you must work on. This is not set apart from the other six days. A nap does not constitute an entire day of rest that is holy and set apart.

Related: Why I Pray for Donald Trump

If God has commanded us to rest, of all the things in the world we could have been commanded to do, shouldn’t we view this with the utmost reverence and seriousness? Think of your days without rest. You’re groggy, irritable, sluggish. God, in His love and wisdom, wishes to protect us from this. Our bodies are not made to work seven days a week. The scriptures are very clear on this. And what a blessing! Can you imagine if God had commanded us to work nonstop? But He hasn’t.

God has commanded us to “remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Remember it — don’t forget it. Don’t forget how important rest is. Don’t forget how it sets you up for success in your upcoming week, as you work for six days. Set yourself up for success. If you choose to go to church on the Sabbath, make this as little work as possible. Throw your meal in the crockpot. Go ahead and prepare for Monday morning on Saturday. Pack your bags and the things needed for church on Saturday, minimizing the tasks that must be performed on Sundays. Take a nap.

My grandfather always said, “You don’t cut the grass or go fishing on Sundays,” meaning you don’t do your housework, even if it needs to be done, and you don’t take part in activities that necessitate an outcome. You remember the Lord your God. You remember that He rested. You remember that He loves you enough to offer you rest. And you take Him up on that by setting your Sabbath apart.

Related: Lay Down the Burden of Perfection

We’ve got six full days to work. Surely we can get it all done in that time! If it was impossible, God would not have set us up this way. And if by the end of our week we haven’t completed everything, perhaps it is a wonderful lesson in self-control to let it all go — it can wait!

Honor God. Honor yourself by honoring your need for rest. And after honoring your need for rest, you can truly begin to serve and love others.