Opinions on Sunday Activity

[Lila]

I have a question. Is it wrong to plan activities for Sundays? The reason I ask this is because of the following story.

I am making a Narnia movie with my friends, and when I scheduled auditons for two Sundays and a Sarturday, my friend said she couldn't come to either of the Sunday ones because they were on the Lord's day. I have always done things like that on Sundays without thinking. Is it wrong to plans things like that for Sundays? I'd like to hear your opinions on this. Thanks.

[tottyfruitty]

well it depends
a lot of people would not do activities on sunday(like going out or playing a sport) for it is Gods day and so they would rather ead their Bible or listen to a Cjristian song or something that involved God for this is the only day that you can totally devote to Him! but if you had a lot of hwk and you didnt finish it the night before then i suppose you wouldnt really have a choice! but like i said it depends on the situation. me well i dont do activites on Sunday for i was in sunday school once and my teacher told me that it would be better if i devoted that day to God

[Copperfox]

Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Do you know who Eric Liddell was? He is the real hero of the true-story movie "Chariots of Fire," despite all the attention heaped upon Harold Abrahams. Liddell had the sincere conviction that you could never do any recreational activity on a Sunday. But later, after the period shown in the movie, there was a time when Liddell found himself responsible for the spiritual welfare of a great number of teenage boys and girls. Realizing that the spirit of the law matters more than the letter of the law, he organized and coached athletic activities for these kids INCLUDING ON SUNDAYS, so that they would have wholesome pastimes and be less likely to fall into not-so-wholesome ones.

[Aravis Kenobi]

I don't think it's wrong, not if you don't have something going on when church is going. If you can exert the energy to go to your activities, then you can exert enough energy to go to church.

[onlymystory]

I always figured if there was an activity that you shouldn't participate in on Sunday then you probably shouldn't be participating in it on any other day. Otherwise I don't think God expects us to sit around twiddling our thumbs all day Sunday. However, if you feel that your Sundays are better spent in worship and bible study for the majority of the day more power to you. God tells us to glorify Him in everything we do, and that can be done whether you're at a concert, the park, or sitting at home.

[Narborg]

I agree with what has bean siad. God is more intesed in your atatue that what ou do. If what you do if for the glory of Good, than do it.

[NarnianPrincess]

Here's a verse.


Colossians 2:16-17
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
"Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

Everyone is convicted differently, the thing is to respect others covictions and let the Holy Spirit direct you. :)

[PrinceOfTheWest]

More as a historical note than a personal opinion, it is interesting to observe that in Colonial America, sabbathbreaking was considered a very serious sin, even into living memory. My wife remembers a saying that her grandmother quoted: "Every stitch on Sunday is a pound of hot lead." This was in rural Pennsylvania in the mid 20th century.

For instance, Rachel Jackson was the wife of Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson. She was a pipe-smoking slaveowner who brewed her own liquor in the Tennessee hills. But when she went with her husband to cosmopolitan New Orleans, what scandalized her was the sabbathbreaking!

Times do change. My well-theologicallly trained daughters are heightening my understanding of what is and is not prudent to do on the Lord's Day. Interestingly, the sin in the Old Testament was referred to as "profaning" the Sabbath. You could only profane that which was holy, and you did so by using it for common uses (like Belshazzar did in Daniel 5 when he had the temple utensils brought out to use at his kegger). Thus to profane the Lord's Day implies that the day itself is holy, but can be used for common use. Of course, if you don't think anything is holy, than it's going to be hard for you to understand how anything can be profaned.

An interesting thing I noticed years ago: even the most unspiritual of people still devote the Lord's Day to what they center their lives upon. Maybe it's God, maybe it's work, maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's sports - you can tell a lot about a person by how he spends the Lord's Day.

[The First Joke]

we were just talking about this in religion class. The Hebrews had laws of what they could and could not do (this list was made by the Pharisees). The big rule was no work. well, what is work? scientifically speaking, it is when force is exerted upon an object to make it move. otherwise, people think that work os manual labor. traditionally, a family should have a nice dinner on the sabbath, but in order the prepare a meal, one has to do work and it you do it the day before, the food will be cold. even then, the table has to be set and so on, so if lifting up a plate is work, how can you do anything on the sabbath?
this is why Christ says that as long as it is good, you can do anything on the sabbath.
i know a priest who is critical of those in his parish who go grocery shopping on sundays. i do not believe that this priest should be critical because he does not have a family to take care of, clothes to wash (priests could wear the same thing every day and no one would notice!), and priests usually get invited to dinner at someone's house on sundays.

do whatever you want on the sabbath as long as it's good, meaning do things you would do if God was sitting next to you as you did your stuff.

[LifeMaiden]

It's deeply ingrained because of our similiar, shared Christian backgrounds ( but even non Christians I know generally think of Sunday as a day of rest) see Sunday as the Lord's Day. Personally for me, I reserve Sunday for a day at church services, taking a contemplative walk in a park nearby, and reading or sitting at my laptop and enjoying this forum. I don't work on Sundays ( most personal trainers don't) but I do go to the gym if I feel like a good workout. As a rule, for me, Sundays are a day for getting to know God a little better...there's nothing like reading Scripture or a good CS Lewis book at the park :) with little kids playing and the sun shining on your face.


And I do laundry :D

[Sir Benjamin the Lion]

I have worked on Sunday. Some of my relatives were hit by Rita so we went over there and helped them out. When you need to pull the donkey out of the ditch you do so even on a sunday.

[The First Joke]

That's Right!

[Ephinie]

I work on Sundays from midnight to 8am. I go to church after work on some Sundays, but sometimes I'm just too tired. When I get home, I usually sleep a while and then just bum around my apartment. Then I have to go back to work again at midnight.

[Midnight Rider]

I don't think it's wrong 2 do anything U would do on any other day, if Church is out...

[Sir Benjamin the Lion]

Well, if your house needs repairs like it leaks majorly when it rains. Then you might want to skip church a nd fix that, If you finish it before church is over, then you can go.

[Son of Adam]

One must remember that Eric Liddell was Jewish and because of that he was required to keep the law and he had the courage of his convictions to do what he did.

That said, I would believe (1) we need to be very careful we don't fall into strict legalism. In ancient times, Jewish people weren't allowed to carry their false teeth in their mouths because it was considered work. If you were outside and someone spotted a needle in your garment that your wife or mother forgot to remove when mending it, you could be stoned for working on the sabbath. The Jews took the 10 commandments and made 667 laws from them. They interpreted what the sabbath day was and what was work and what wasn't. That's why Jesus was so upset with the priests, scribes and Pharisees over the Sabbath. The Sabbath was for man. It wasn't made for God. God created it to give man a day of rest and liesure from working all week.

(2) I think making a Narnia film would be considered a Christian project and as long as it isn't work and brings you pleasure, I say go for it.

[Copperfox]

It was Harold Abrahams who was Jewish.

[Gondor Knight of Narnia]

Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with making plans on Sunday. Sunday-before-Last I went on a paintball trip up on the mountains w/ my church's youth group(I'm a year or two too old to be in it...sniff...). :D

[Aslan'sFriend410]

I also like to stick to the mindset that Sunday is a day of rest. I get up, get ready for church usually listening to Christian music, go to Sunday and then worship service. My aunt and I usually go out to lunch after that. Sometimes if she or I need something, we'll run in WalMart and get it. Then I usually go home and take a nap. After that I'll wake up and eat dinner, practice my drums, get ready for work the next day, and then go to bed. I have done work for either my masters classes or for school though in a pinch. It's definitly not my favorite time to it though.

I think if whatever you are doing will give you a chance to relax or energizes you and re-equip you to be ready to focus on the Lord's work the next day, go for it.

[LifeMaiden]

Basically in a nutshell, for me, Sunday is 'usually' a day of rest LOL. But I too have worked on Sunday in the past, I've done shopping, etc. I sort of look at Sundays as a symbolic day of rest. Yeah, that's the word. SYMBOLIC :)

[Son of Adam]

Let me ask a question of everyone here. How many of you have gone to the grocery store, a gas station, a movie, a restaurant, a movie, the mall, or a store like Wal-Mart on a Sunday? Why did you go? Do you realize how many people had to work on a Sunday to take care of Christians who go to these places after church? I wonder how upset we would all be if these businesses would all be closed on Sunday. Some 50-60 years ago, many states had what was called the 'blue laws' which forced all business to close on Sunday. When it came time for a vote, these laws were repealed by a huge majority of people, including most Christians.

So, can we have it both ways? No. We should try to make Sunday a Sabbath day, a day of rest but not condemn those who have to work. Even Paul made the statement in: Col 2:16 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

Notice Paul was already saying to the gentiles not to let anyone judge you as to sabbaths or holydays. If you have to work on Sundays, then let whatever day you have off that week be a sabbath to you. As long as one day is given to rest, relaxation and God, there is no problem there.

[Narborg]

Let me ask a question of everyone here. How many of you have gone to the grocery store, a gas station, a movie, a restaurant, a movie, the mall, or a store like Wal-Mart on a Sunday? Why did you go? Do you realize how many people had to work on a Sunday to take care of Christians who go to these places after church? I wonder how upset we would all be if these businesses would all be closed on Sunday. Some 50-60 years ago, many states had what was called the 'blue laws' which forced all business to close on Sunday. When it came time for a vote, these laws were repealed by a huge majority of people, including most Christians.

So, can we have it both ways? No. We should try to make Sunday a Sabbath day, a day of rest but not condemn those who have to work. Even Paul made the statement in: Col 2:16 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

Notice Paul was already saying to the gentiles not to let anyone judge you as to sabbaths or holydays. If you have to work on Sundays, then let whatever day you have off that week be a sabbath to you. As long as one day is given to rest, relaxation and God, there is no problem there.

I know. I have to work sometimes on a sunday, and I often see chritsiatns I know shppping. If they did shop, I would have to work.....