THE OTHER SIDE OF KEEPING SABBATH

Moses is still up on the mountain getting the ten commandments directly from God. He has heard, and we have discussed, the fifth commandment that states we should observe the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.

There is, however, another part of that commandment that many people never seem to hear or pay attention to; they forget about verse nine of Exodus 20 that proclaims “six days shall you labor and do your work.” That part of the equation is just as equally important. If we are going to set aside a day to rest; then we are to be keeping the six other days of the week by working.

That was God’s own original pattern; and that is the pattern He also set for our times.

Remember what extra emphasis God put on this particular commandment?

It would be careless to observe and keep a portion of it and then leave the other portion out as if it were not necessary at all.

GOD CREATED MANKIND TO WORK

We are made to work. God created us to be that way.

God wants us to be useful in tending to the earth and taking care of those that we love and those who need our help. He wants our actions to be self-sustaining, in that we are constantly providing for our needs by the labor of our hands, minds and hearts.

We are truly blessed because we are able to  work and provide for ourselves and our families.

Do we even begin to understand this blessing?

Maybe not and maybe that is why God gave us a few rules called “commandments” that would help us to understand things by actually having to do them.

A COMMANDMENT FOR EVERYONE

God gave this commandment to ALL of us; not just part of us.

No matter who we are; or what our standards in life are at the moment; we ALL have something useful and good that we can be doing to make a contribution to the betterment of the society as a whole.

We are all purposefully designed to be active and doing some form of work.

If we do not work as best we can and are able; we break one of God’s commandments and we live in sin.

This doesn’t mean that someone who doesn’t get paid for the worthwhile things that they do are living in sin.  All work doesn’t receive pay; it is still work.  What we do not get paid for here on earth will be given to us in multiples when we reach eternity.  This is how God contributes to our retirement fund.  Just think of it as a heavenly 401K and rejoice.  God’s interest is higher than any that you would receive on earth.

WORK ISN’T MEASURED BY A PAY CHECK

A housewife works just as long and hard, if not harder than a person with a professional career.

Mothers tending to children work harder than anyone.

A senior citizen may not be able to do a lot of physically demanding tasks anymore, but they can mentor and advise people with the wisdom they have gained through a life well-lived.

People who are not yet able to find paid employment can offer their services in other ways; until they do find employment.

Everyone has a part to play in God’s Kingdom.

If you can’t think of anything more worthwhile to do; try smiling at someone, or making someone laugh. We all have SOME type of worthwhile work that we an do on this earth.

God meant for all of us to be using the capabilities and gifts He has given us for good in sustaining life on this earth.

He COMMANDED us to be about our work for six days of the week when He gave us the the fourth commandment.

A COMMANDMENT THAT BRINGS BALANCE

The two sides of this fourth commandment balance out our lives. We work and we rest, and we work and we rest. That is the rhythm that Heaven has composed and life is the dance; staying in sync with God’s patterns makes for a much happier life.

Learning how to work is learning one of the dance steps to life.

We soon find out in regard to working and resting, that it takes doing one thing to be able to fully appreciate the other thing.

These are the laws that God put into motion which help us to realize that the activity of work is best for us in every way. Keeping this commandment of work and rest brings balance to our daily lives.

Keeping Sabbath makes our work a pleasure.

Keeping work makes our Sabbath a joy!

BUSY PEOPLE ARE HAPPY PEOPLE

This concept of work and rest seems to be totally lost in our society today.   I find it a very sad fact.

When a society leaves God out of every equation of life, the first thing to go is the work ethic of the people.

They begin to make government their god.  Most of the citizens stand there with their hands out and their minds empty. In this type of society, there is more time for anger and resentment and hate.

People who work are too busy to hate.

They don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves!

Those who make a life habit of purposeful work are all about loving those that they labor for and helping those who have no means of helping themselves.

Keeping the work six/rest one pattern that God originally established turns the worldly chaos of too much time into peaceful moments and happy memories.

LOOKING BACK IN HISTORY

There was once upon a time, not so very long ago, a time when blessed and free people earnestly followed scripture and tried to do what they thought pleased God because of what they learned from studying the Word of God.

Work was seen as good, honest, moral behavior.

People worked in order to be accountable to God.

They had a healthy fear of God. They KNEW if they did not work and do their part to maintain the world that they lived within; that they were breaking God’s fourth commandment.

Then society evolved to a place where many began to say “God doesn’t really matter, as long as I’m “good” I can pretty much do as I please.”

After that new concept was realized; they made their own definition of “good” which included neither work or a Sabbath rest.

BECOMING THEIR OWN LITTLE GODS

In this type of world-view which focuses on a fearless immorality, the work ethic appears to have changed.

Many do not feel they need to be making a contribution.  They usually feel just the opposite actually;they feel they automatically deserve to be happy and cared for simply because they exist. They are very pleased to be their own bosses and to answer to no one except themselves

This seems to be an attempt by some to re-make the world and change the basic rules of the universe that God set into motion when He began creation.

The new majority tends to believe all of this ancient talk about work is just an old worn our fairy tale; so they quit having a work ethic and they quit worrying about things that “other people” decided were moral.

Now they make their own rules; without thinking about the fact that they set themselves up as their own little gods. Just as long as it makes them happy; they believe they are entitled to a work-free life, and they choose to answer to no one.

These people tend to see work as a punishment instead of the blessing that God intended it to be.

Then they wonder why they can’t find happiness.

CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE

Out of their own selfish reasoning, they miss out on something very crucial to human happiness.

They miss out on the fact that work can bring value and meaning to a person’s days.

They don’t see that work can glorify mankind and make his days much more interesting and rewarding.

Even better; the greatest work within all of us can glorify and honor God.

These people, by making up their own laws, miss out on the joy of providing for a family and loved ones and being able to help another fellow human being who is having a hard time or a bad day.

Everything is simply taken for granted; nothing is special to look forward to or hope for in the future.

By rejecting God’s ways they miss the dignity that comes from being created in God’s image.  They miss the joy that comes form being creative in the purposeful ways that God made each individual person unique and distinct from others. The blessing of seeing what work can do for civilization and society as a whole is totally lost.

PURPOSEFUL WORK IS A BLESSING OF THE FREE

Take a survey of the whole world in your mind.

What countries seem to be suffering and in despair?

Are these not those countries which have demanding governments in strict control?

Do they not seem to be greedy governments which have failed to implement a work ethic among their people?

There are starving people living in poverty all over the globe, Many of these come from countries where their citizens are oppressed and not allowed the freedom to work under free-enterprise in order to make their lives better and more abundant.

No answers are available for these people.  The cycle of poverty goes on and on because either they are not allowed to choose their own work, or they do not share the mind-set to work and improve their situation.  If they share God’s view of work; they cannot implement it because the governments have oppressed people and do not allow them the freedom to live out God’s ways and reap the joy that comes form a continuous pattern of work and rest in their daily lives.

Every day is just the same old drag to them.

Nothing ever changes.

Fresh new things never happen.

Nothing they do actually matters. They lose all motivation to thrive.

OUTSIDE HELP IS USELESS FOR THIS MENTALITY

This isn’t ALWAYS the case; but it is true for many such cases where there is poverty around the world.

Well wishers go on missions,hoping to make a positive difference. They see good changes come about, but when they leave everything regresses back to poverty and want again.

The people have not been taught the pattern of work and rest as provided by God.

Poverty and oppression isn’t the way that God wants His people to live.

GOD WANTS US TO HAVE JOYFUL AND ABUNDANT LIVES

God wishes for each person to have an abundant joyful life where they are able to use the gifts He has given them in their daily lives. God set up the commandments so that we can learn the best ways to live and work.

It is greedy and selfish men who have brought poverty and troubles upon mankind and perverted the natural patterns of God that help a worker to thrive and survive in abundance.

GOD’S PEOPLE OFTEN TAKE SABBATH RULES FOR GRANTED

Then there are those countries that DO have the freedom we speak of; yet the people abuse it and take it for granted.

Perhaps too many generations have had life too easy and have not taught the ethics of work to their children.

So many do not appreciate their right to work and they do not understand God’s best ways to provide for themselves and their families from the fruit of their labor.

Honest work and a decent job seem to be beneath their dignity.

Some just want everything handed to them on a silver platter.,

Unfortunately; all others have to be about the work that makes those silver platters possible.

None of us should be considered “elite” and above the standards of others.

There is no cast system in God’s Kingdom.  Everyone must do their fair share.

THE FRUIT OF THE LABOR CALLED WORK

God’s way is one of equality and equal distribution. There is equal distribution of work and equal distribution of rest for everyone who wants to obey Him and take up His ways.

All who work get to enjoy the fruit if their labor.

Work is one way that God gave to us to help redeem the problems from the curse originally caused by man falling prey to the the enemy of God.

Our work by itself can’t actually redeem us; but  coupled with the perfect work of Christ; we can have hope.  It was the holy work of Jesus on the cross that brought redemption for our sins.  His work on this earth brought us salvation for our souls.  The work of Christ was the most important and the most fruitful work that has ever been done.

Unfortunately as mere humans, we cannot repair our own souls.  We are too sinful.  Our days are full of imperfections.  Christ was the only perfect, sinless life ever lived in the body of a man on this earth.  This was His work and He did it joyfully and willingly.  He wanted to do this work for us.  He loved us that much.

He is our best example for the things of life; both in resting in the Sabbath and in working through all our other days.

The work that we do have to offer combined with the work of Christ in our souls  helps to temporarily repair the decay caused by sins until the time that Jesus will return again and make all things new.

The laws of God keep and redeem the earth and the creation.  These laws have been broken over and over again.  They were broken to the point of the ruin of all the souls of mankind; but Jesus came to repair this.  Once He repaired our souls; we became strengthened enough to participate with Him in this holy process of keeping God’s commandments and doing our work at the required times so that we can be doing our part to restore what He has designed for us to be.  In this very small way we play our part in the redemption story along the side of Christ.

Yet; there are so many broken pieces that must come together!

TUKKUM OLAM

Keeping God’s laws in grace and love are how the brokenness begins to be restored.  The love of Christ finishes what we cannot do by ourselves.

The Jewish people have a saying: “tukkun olam.”  It is often spoken and taken out of context.  It means “repair the world.”

To even begin to  repair the world one must begin to reverse the curse of sin within the world.   God gave us the commandments to help with this task.  He sent Christ to finish what could not be accomplished any other way.  With the help of Jesus, we all have a part to play on the stage of the world to restore what is left of what God created and the life and love of Christ fulfilled.

Work was the curse that came to us by breaking the law of God.  Now by work we begin our part of the restoration of the world from this curse.  It is a great and mysterious reversal that is a constant and continual process of the saving of the souls of the earth and the restoration of the earth itself.  We must use our physical bodies, or minds, our hearts and our souls to work with God in the process that He is using to save us and all of creation.  Each time we keep a law in obedience that counteracts the death and destruction process of the earth that we have caused with sin.

IT ALL STARTS BY WORKING FOR SIX DAYS AND RESTING ON THE SEVENTH

Repairing the world all starts by working six days and resting on the seventh; just as Our Father did in the beginning.  We must follow God’s patterns of time.

The fourth commandment is all about keeping God’s time and His ways in the time of our lives.  This is just as important today as it was in the day of Moses; maybe even more so as time is drawing to an end and we (those who belong to Christ) are anxiously awaiting the coming of our Groom, Jesus Christ.

The whole earth seems to sigh and say with those prophets of old; “How long O LORD?”