But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God.... Exodus 20:10
"October 16, 2022, the New York Times published an article by
Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren titled: “How to Fight Back Against
the Inhumanity of Modern Work.”
The author of this article offers
solutions on how to combat the inhumanity of the modern workplace cycle,
which she says has been altered by digital technology.
Tish Harrison Warren describes how the modern worker has become a
“limitless, sleepless, unemotional machine” thanks to the pandemic and
the digital revolution, which has made it “more difficult to unplug from
work.” She says that it is time to “reexamine what it means for work to
be humane.”
---Pay close attention to the solution that is being proposed
in this New York Times article. They are calling us back to a “common
cause” found in Sunday rest by law. The article went on to say:
• “In the early labor movement, a broad and diverse base of religious people found common cause around Sabbath laws. These laws (often called blue laws) are now usually seen as examples of antiquated, puritanical, even theocratic impulses: prim religious people running around trying to make sure no one enjoys a beer on a Sunday afternoon. Advocates of Sabbatarianism, however, saw their work as an act of resistance to greed and a fight for the laborer.”• “A key issue in the burgeoning industrialist economy of the North was the preservation of time for worship, rest and family life to preserve the dignity of the worker. They looked to Sabbath laws, in part, to help achieve this.”• “Keeping the Sabbath wasn’t merely a religious observance but served a civic function. It was a practical way, through time itself, to treat workers as valuable humans with whole lives to be lived.”• “Sabbath rest” is necessary for both body and soul; that it preserves “health, wealth and the temporal happiness and prosperity of individuals and communities.”• “Take away the Sabbath and you destroy the most humane and democratic institution,” which is made particularly for “the man of labor and toil, of poverty and sorrow.”
This is what is being advocated in the New York Times. With all this
talk about the history of blue laws, the idea of mandating Sunday rest
by law is being revived once again.
Then the author of the article goes on to explain how she keeps
Sunday holy from Saturday night until Sunday night. That’s exactly how
the blue laws used to work, and that’s the example she is giving to the
public:
• “At the very least, workers ought to be able to completely shut off from work one day a week or more — no email, no notifications, nothing. My family attempts to avoid all digital devices from Saturday night to Sunday night, some weeks with greater success than others. This aids our goals for our Sabbath day: rest, play, worship and delight. This practice has shaped our family life, our work, our habits and our very bodies.”
In spite of all the arguments for workers needing time to rest, this
New York Times article is basically saying that our society is not
keeping Sunday holy as it ought to be.
All these statements and
arguments plainly show that the real objective of the whole Sunday-law
movement is to get people to attend church on Sunday in order to
preserve worship."
AdventMessenger
