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Remember The Sabbath

           Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)

            One of the issues I struggled with during the past six months is trying to rest more on Sundays. Oh, I’ve tried to not work on Sundays, not exercise except as part of walking the dog, but over the past six months, I’ve tried to be more disciplined about it. I’m not suggesting I’m doing it right, yet. But last Sunday, I found myself facing the same attitude problem I’ve noticed several other times. There’s a frustration that I am doing things I have said I won’t do, but there’s a bigger frustration that I can’t do the things I have decided I won’t do. Behind those frustrations, there is another sense. I want the day to be over so I can get back to doing things that I value, or that I think give me value.

            In other words, one of the things that bother me about the Sabbath is that it’s not all about me. One way or another, it keeps coming around to the Sabbath being a day when I don’t get my way. Of course, there are a lot of other times that I don’t get my way, but that doesn’t change anything. On Sundays, I’m worthless.

            In one sense, that’s a lie. In another, It’s a truth that means I’m partway there. The whole point of the Sabbath is God, so now I need to turn from “I’m worthless” to “He’s worthy.”

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