Don't Take A Sabbath...

NOT!

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 NTL

I have often said that God gave us the sabbath because we needed it. I still believe this but recently I have been concluding that this is only part and a small part of sabbath. It is far bigger than us taking a day off. 

First, before I go any further, I want to say that I'm not saying we need to institute the blue laws again as a cure to our problems. The problems in the world require changed hearts not changed laws. Nor am I arguing which day of the week should be the sabbath. This according to Paul (Romans 14) is not worth arguing over and is actually a stumbling block. Sabbath at the end of the day should bring freedom, not bondage.   

The sabbath as I see it was given to help. The problem I think many have today is thinking that the sabbath is taking a day off to rest for ourselves. I have said and have heard others say, “I took a sabbath.” The problem here is that if we really look at the commands the sabbath is something we don't take, we give. 

So, who are we to give the sabbath to?

1. The Lord God (Exodus 31:15)

2. Family (Exodus 20:10)

3. Servants/employees (Exodus 20:10)

4. Foreigners (Exodus 20:10)

5. Livestock/land (Exodus 20:10)

6. Ourselves (Exodus 20:10)

Sabbath means far more than taking a day off. It means giving others a day off and of course doing it to honor God. 

I could go into depth here but giving an honest sabbath is a sacrifice in today's world. If instituted honestly in the lives of Christians, it would mean we would need less from others and nature. This would be a good thing.  

I recently read a book called Subversive Sabbath and though I don't agree fully with some of the concepts the author puts forth, it helped me cement a concept, I hate to admit, I fall very short in, giving an honest sabbath to God, others, and myself. 

Side Note: There are more scriptures than the ones I listed I was just listing one of many.