Question:
How seriously should I observe the Sabbath? Aside from not going to work, should I leave dishes in the sink, laundry in the bin, etc.? And what if I love my job so much that I WANT to work 7 days a week?
Answer:
I'm glad you're asking this question. Some Christians wonder if there is anything inside the Sabbath commandment for Christians to retain or observe. Why? Well Christ himself said he was the "Lord of the Sabbath" and he downplayed the many extra, man made rules that had been put on the Sabbath command which had made it an onerous burden. Rather, Jesus said, the command was made FOR people, for our benefit, not to put a great burden on us. So Christians have felt the freedom from Christ to change much of how we observe the Sabbath. Like the day of the week for example. It was Saturday for the Jews but early Christians started to observe it on Sunday because the Resurrection took place on Sunday. And Paul taught that one day of the week wasn't more holy than another.
Yet we go wrong if we think that there is nothing in the Sabbath command of moral value for us Christians. All the 10 commandments are still a great rule of life for those who seek to walk out love for God and love for people.
So i think 4 priorities should be in mind as you think of how to obey this life giving command: Rest, Reflection, Recreation, Remembering.
One day a week you need to not work. The preparation of food doesn't really count, or else God would have joined the command to fast and the Sabbath. But he does not. So they are separate things. But this is exactly where the ancient Jews got tripped up. They spent hours and lifetimes debating what constituted "work". Can we prepare food? How much? Can we even lift food or is that work too? Their man made rules got to be quite ridiculous. (One Rabbi refused to eat an egg if it had been laid on the Sabbath!). It's best therefore, not to make any rules about this that God didn't make. You know what work is. You know when you are working to earn a living especially. And this is part of the faith growth that comes with obeying the command. If you stop working a day a week - how do you know the company will make it? You don't. So you must trust God. How do you know you'll get the grades if you don't study 7 days a week? You don't. So you must trust God. It doesn't matter if you like it. It might be MORE important to rest if you like your work a lot. Because it puts it in front of you EVERY week that you trust God more than you trust yourself or your ability to provide. It's the same reason we fast and tithe. We put ourselves in an artificially desperate situation as a prayer to God: "God, more work right now will help me secure my life (because of the increased pleasure, or income) - but YOU are my true security, so I forfeit some of this other security to tell you that and to tell my own heart that."
The creation week, which is so key in Scripture to establishing the Sabbath rhythm shows God reflecting on what he has done. Productive labor, followed by appreciation, should be our pattern too. "And God saw that it was good." Prayers of thanksgiving are approriate, gratitute for the provision and the production of the prior week.
Likewise, as he says, "it was good", God is clearly enjoying what he has made. When we Sabbath, we should also play, enjoying the creation that God made good. Recreation, literally performs anew the creating work of God in our souls, a work of restoring us, renewing us.
And of course, whenever God talks about the Sabbath he says, "REMEMBER." It's a time therefore for worship with God's people, and especially for us Christians to REMEMBER the finished, awesome work of Christ on the cross that purchased our freedom, our forgiveness, our very lives! Jesus himself set up the communion meal as a permanent observance for his Followers with the words, "do this in Remembrance of me."
So Sabbath observance should include all of that: Rest, Reflection, Recreation and Remembrance. And you'll find out what Jesus meant when he said the Sabbath was made for man - this is a heart lifting, body renewing, mind clearing habit that restores the soul!