Ten Commandments
4. Keep The Sabbath

⁸ Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labour and do all your work, ¹⁰ 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹ 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)}

Society in the United Kingdom has changed significantly since the Sunday trading laws were relaxed in 1994, many would like to see these relaxed further.

The distinctive nature of a traditional Sunday, where it was different from the other six days, has been lost. To most people it is like any other day, they may not be at work - but it is a time for shopping or doing jobs at home.

Less people attend church on a weekly basis, many more do not attend church at all. So many people are missing out on the experience of corporate worship and the positive affect that it has on our daily lives.

At creation God set us an example that we should set aside one day in seven to refresh ourselves and dedicate the time to God. Clearly a time of rest can be seen as a gift from God. The commandment tells the Israelites that this is the Lord's day and that it applies to everyone Jew and non-Jew. In the time when God was supplying manna to feed them - twice as much was provided and kept fresh on the day before the Sabbath so that this commandment could be upheld.

With Christ's ministry on earth he teaches us that He is Lord of the Sabbath and that doing good works to please God on the Sabbath is acceptable - eg. healing the sick. It is a time where we should be focused on worshipping God and seeking both spiritual and physical relaxation.

For our physical well being we need rest; even super-fit footballers need several days between matches for their bodies to recover, we often hear that a team has not performed well because they were tired after four games in seven days. Likewise our minds need to be rested from the business of everyday life. Our spiritual nature needs to be refreshed.

We have freedom of choice; we can choose to be a slave to modern society; we can choose to have times of rest. We often use the phrase 'work life balance' and there are several books and seminars on the subject. God wrote the first one and gave it to us for free because he loves us and knows our needs better than anyone.

It is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind pace of modern life. It is worth taking an audit of our time and priorities. Is God given sufficient time in your schedule? Are you spending enough time relaxing with family and friends?