On a good day we may break only a few of the 10 Commandments, perhaps not any. While Jesus expanded some of the commandments to make them more holistic, it’s pretty easy to keep from breaking most of them.
I’ve never murdered anyone.
I’ve never committed adultery.
And I only ever stole during a phase when I couldn’t stop myself from stealing road cones.
We like to think that if we do pretty well with the “Big 10” then we’ll live the lives that Jesus wants us to live. Unfortunately, most of us live like they are the 9 Commandments.
We know that we’re supposed to love God before all else and honor our parents. We also know that we’re not supposed to bow down to idols or steal from others. Those usually aren’t the commandments we forget.
Instead we tend to forget God’s command to observe the Sabbath.
God thinks that observing a day of rest is so important that he lists it alongside honoring him and not killing other people. And while we would never think about murdering another human being, we often live our lives without any margin, never taking a day to simply rest and be in God’s presence.
Sabbath rest is important and it’s so much more than simply taking a day off work. We can fill our days off with even more activity than our days at work. Getting kids to sporting events and running errands can fill our Saturdays more than an 8-hour shift. Sabbath isn’t just about the absence of work, but finding the presence of God.
When we’re exploring what it means to take a Sabbath, we need to look to those life-giving activities that better connect us with God. That could be going on a walk, cooking a meal, taking a nap or reading a good book. We all enjoy different practices that help us better connect with God. Those practices and activities should populate our Sabbaths because they help us find God’s presence.
That kind of Sabbath, the God-centered day of rest, takes a lot of intention and effort. I know that I’ve thought about taking a Sabbath before but I just ended up spending the entire day watching Netflix and waiting for Twitter to refresh. I definitely wasn’t working on those days, but I also wasn’t seeking out God’s presence.
There aren’t 9 Commandments; there are 10 Commandments. And just like we try to love God and honor our parents, we also need to strive to have Sabbath as a part of our lives. Sabbath puts our lives into better rhythms and reminds us that God is God and we are not. Even if we take a day off, the world is going to keep on spinning. God doesn’t need us keep things going so we might as well take a day of rest.
What helps you keep Sabbath?
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