Keep the Sabbath Day Holy
What does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy? Now hold on; before you stop reading because you've undoubtedly already heard this lesson 10 trillion times in Sunday school, what I found might actually be new to you!
We first heard of “Keep the Sabbath day holy” from the 10 commandments. Exodus 20:8 teaches, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
As I was raised, as I talked to my friends, and as I have since discussed with many others, I've come to learn that many of us interpret this commandment in completely different ways. Some people say, “Well, you go home after church and you don't do anything. No going out, don't visit friends or others, that's how you keep it holy.” Others have said that they go skiing or to the lake and enjoy God's creation of nature, but which of these is actually correct?
Unfortunately, one of the resources we have available to us, the church “General Handbook”, is not particularly helpful on this subject. Apart from firmly declaring that on the Sabbath, you come to church and participate in the ordinances of the sacrament, as well as there should be no official church camps, sporting events, recreation activities, etc, the rest of the direction pictured below is pretty general.
Excerpt from a church handbook
Excerpt from a church handbook
Then how should we determine what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy? What's the first thing that we do when we want to understand something deeper? We break it down and make it more simple!
Let's begin by looking at the etymology of both Sabbath and holy. “Keep the Sabbath day holy.” “Sabbath” comes from a Hebrew word which means “to rest from labor”, whereas “holy” is a word that means “to consecrate or dedicate something to God, to make it sacred.” If we put those together, we are “consecrating or dedicating” a day to God to make it “sacred and rest from our labors.”
That's all good and nice, but we're still looking pretty general though. From here, and in preparation for this topic, I prayed and asked our Heavenly Father for a little bit of extra direction and understanding of how we can follow the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. He actually led me to a Bible verse that doesn't have anything to do with the Sabbath day directly, but with further guidance from the Holy Spirit, I understood what He was trying to teach me.
From The Bible: Matthew 6:16-18
Matthew 6:16-18 talks about fasting and doing so with a genuine attitude and desire to fast. To genuinely show God that you are interested in foregoing something that you love and that you actually need as a human being is a great way to manifest your love and dedication to Him, who has given you all things. What I now understand Heavenly Father was trying to teach me is that we should look at the Sabbath day the same way that He wants us to look at fasting.
Fasting is a pretty straightforward process. It's generally agreed upon that fasting means no food or drink for two meals or 24 hours, whichever comes first. Obviously, because of illness, or other personal situations, there are ways that some people adjust this according to what they understand is okay between them and the Lord.
That now begs a question. Similar to how some still fast, but adjust the method in which they do so, what if instead of following a strict guideline for the Sabbath day, we instead worry and focus on having a genuine intention? The intent to dedicate the day to glorifying God.
Could you glorify God by staying indoors with your family, reading the scriptures, watching church films, or other things that remind you of and bring you closer to the Savior or to our Heavenly Father? Yes.
Could you go out into nature and genuinely take time to appreciate the beauty and majesty of God's creation? Wholly focusing on that, and not doing so because you secretly want to go out and have fun on a Sunday. Yes.
Now, knowing who I am as well as my own personal limits, I don't know if I could go skiing on a Sunday and wholly focus on dedicating what I'm doing to God. But there are probably people out there that actually could. What God really cares about is the intent of our hearts. Think about it. What else does God care about in terms of how we actually feel, not just how we act because we're supposed to do it? Everything. If that is indeed the case, why would that same rule not apply to the Sabbath day? So I'll ask again, how do you make the Sabbath day holy?
Worship God.
One of the most obvious ways to worship is to go to church and partake of the sacrament. Another great way is staying for the second hour to share how the gospel of Jesus Christ and how God's hand in your life has blessed, guided, comforted, and led you where you need to go. Sharing those stories, those testimonies, and those thoughts with other church members and those in your community can absolutely encourage them in life and invite them to come closer to Christ and to God themselves. Is that not worshiping God? Of course it is.
What about taking time to reflect on your week and recognize the blessings and direct involvement of God in your life, then writing it down in a journal; not only for you in the future but your posterity as well. Of course that's worshiping God.
How about going on a hike with your family, but not just any hike, a hike that perhaps at which one point, you kneel together and pray, thanking God for His beautiful creations, thanking God for your blessings like giving you the body and he abilities that you have to be able hike and to experience His creation. Is that not worship? Of course it is.
What I mainly took away from this lesson is that God wants genuinity. He wants our sincere love, desire, care, and worship. I don't think He necessarily cares what you do on the Sabbath as long as you've set it apart genuinely in your heart to dedicate it to Him, and to worship Him and his Son. I will not, nor do I have the remote desire to tell you what you can and can't do on the Sabbath. That being said, I will encourage whatever that may be, make it genuine and real. Make it be from your heart.
If you have a question as to whether or not something is appropriate for the Sabbath, take it up with Heavenly Father and be honest with yourself and Him in the response you get. Just as we're invited to do in learning the truth of the Book of Mormon, pray with a sincere heart having real intent to act on the answer you receive and you will get that guidance. I testify that as you honestly and genuinely keep the Sabbath holy in a way that you know is good between you and God, that you will be blessed in more ways than one such as is promised in the scriptures: protection, increased spiritual sensitivity, physical renewal, fortification against temptation, prosperity, and more.
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