Keeping the Sabbath: allowing ourselves and the earth to just 'be'

Once upon a time, in a land far different to where we live today, people didn't go shopping on Sundays. None of the shops were open. They didn't go on the internet. The internet didn't exist. Instead they ate dinner or lunch around something called a dining room table and participated in the strange custom of enjoying each other's company. And this didn't involve Facebook or Twitter or text messages or Skype. Instead, they enjoyed each other's company face-to-face.

While we may laugh at these strange customs of people long ago and far different to ourselves, they actually had a reason for this Sunday behaviour. They found that reason in the bible, more specifically in the Ten Commandments. They actually took the fourth commandment, to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, seriously.

Of course we realise now how silly that was. Because who wants to obey one of God's commandments when you can shop?

But would our lives really be any worse if we got back to the fourth commandment? I suggest they would be much better. The Ten Commandments aren't there just because God felt like making a few rules up. They are for our own good. And that includes the fourth commandment, arguably the most neglected commandment of the lot.

Our lives are filled with so much 'doing'. The Sabbath gives us permission to simply 'be', to enjoy each moment as it comes instead of racing off to check the next item off the to-do list. You are more present for the people around you, rather than seeing them as a distraction or an obstacle. You are also more present to what's around you. You are free to enjoy the trees and the birds and the sun and the flowers when they're more than just scenery on the way to your next appointment. These moments of just 'being' are important for our souls.

Keeping a Sabbath day also gives us time to reconnect with the family and those that are important to us. Today more than ever, many of us spend most of our time away from other members of the household. We work in different places. We fill up our leisure time with various activities. A family needs more than just blood ties and a common roof. It needs time of connection and communication. It needs time to just 'be' in each other's presence.

Furthermore, ignoring the Sabbath is bad for the earth. One more day where we can shop is one more day where we're likely to buy things that we don't need. Is there anything that important that it can't wait until Monday before we purchase it? Is the world really going to fall apart if there's one day when we can't shop? I would love to see all shops close again on Sundays. It seems ridiculous, when we know the ecological damage our lifestyles cause, to stick to this idea of having the shops open as long and as often as possible. If we went back to no Sunday trading, not only would it enable a lot of people to spend time at home with their family instead of at work, but it would cut down 'boredom-spending'. I'm sure that most of the things that are bought on Sundays are only purchased because people want something to 'do'. They've lost the ability to simply 'be'.

It's interesting that the fourth commandment tells us not only to rest ourselves on the Sabbath, but that all of our family, all of our workers, the stranger within our gates and even the cattle are to rest. The commandment is not just for us. It's for everyone - including the animals. I would suggest that the Sabbath is also for the earth.

The earth needs a chance to just 'be' as well. And when we let the earth just 'be' and let ourselves just 'be' in the earth, we gain something that can never be gained by 'doing' things and by 'using' the earth.

The bible is full of verses that tell us that the earth shows us something of God. Just one instance of this is Romans 1:20, where Paul tells us that men have no excuse for not knowing God, for he can be seen in the things he has made. And yet I think we miss out on a lot of that. Creation may be telling us about God. But we're not hearing it because we're too busy to pay attention. Just 'being' in nature gives us the space and the opportunity to really listen to what it has to say.

We make such huge demands on the earth's resources all the time. Imagine if we used the Sabbath to actually give the earth a break. Switch off the mobile phone and the computer. Use as least electricity as possible. Don't drive and don't shop. If everybody did this for just one day a week, it would reduce our impact on the earth.

And it would actually improve our lives in the process. Without technology and the malls demanding our attention, we would be free to give our attention to what really matters - our God, our family, our earth and our souls.

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WWJB and HWJTTE

Then he turned to the one who had one talent and said, 'What did you do with what I had given you?' 'Well,' he replied, 'I figured you were talking about things I was good at rather than money. So I joined the choir and spent the money you gave me on an iPhone.'

Out of everything I've heard or read on the Parable of the Talents, at least half talk about talents as spiritual gifts or things we are good at. It's kind of funny that we spend so much time talking about non-financial resources, when we have more money at our disposal now than at any other time in history.

Of those that do talk about money, nearly all of them mention tithing. They use the Parable of the Talents to illustrate that, if we tithe, God will increase the money we have.

I've never liked the Parable of the Talents. Maybe it's because I don't like tithing. Maybe it's because I've always identified with the person who was only given one talent. Maybe it's because I've always found it sad that the person who was given more gets more while the person who was given less gets even that taken away from them. Or maybe I just don't understand it.

So with that in mind, I'd like to offer two readings of the Parable of the Talents. I'm not saying they're the ways the parable should be read. I'm just offering them up as two ways that it could be read.

We're all familiar with the WWJD acronym, for What Would Jesus Do? Another acronym that sometimes gets tossed around is WWJW - for What Would Jesus Watch? I believe there are signs you can place on top of your TV. And some people suggest imagining that Jesus is sitting next to you on the couch. Would he be happy with your viewing choices?

It's funny how we get so legalistic about stuff like television-watching and ignore the things that are far more important. I'm not saying what we watch on television isn't important. I believe it is. But there are bigger things to think about.

WWJB stands for What Would Jesus Buy? That phrase was used for a show by the Reverend Billy. And it's kind of a silly show, but it has a very important message.

What if we read the Parable of the Talents so that we saw the talents God has given us as every cent of our money? What if we took seriously our responsibility to invest that money wisely? That doesn't mean going out and finding an investment fund that will give us a good return for our money. It does mean, however, looking at every dollar we spend and asking questions about how much of it works for or against God's purposes.

Forget about putting a WWJB sign on your wallet. Just imagine handing Jesus your financial accounts at the end of your life. How much money did you spend on clothes - and how many of those clothes were produced in sweatshops? How much money did you spend on things you didn't need? How many of your purchases ended up in landfill? How did your purchases harm the earth? How much money did you give to companies with unethical practices? How much food did you buy that you ended up throwing out? 

And then what percentage of your money actually went to doing good in this world?

I'm glad that's not a true scenario. I'd hate to think of Jesus looking over my accounts at the end of time. I can just imagine him saying, 'So while millions of people were starving, you spent how much money on diet coke and cigarettes?'

Here's another acronym - HWJTTE. It's not as neat as the other acronyms, but it's just as important. It stands for How Would Jesus Treat The Earth?

Another reading of the Parable of the Talents is to replace talent with earth. We only have one earth. What are we going to do with it? Are we going to use it for God's purposes? Or are we going to use it for our own selfish desires? Are we going to ensure that its resources are distributed fairly? Or do we think we can get away with a small percentage of the population having a large proportion of them? Are we going to protect it? Or are we going to destroy it?

And the Parable of the Talents shows us that simply hiding the problem from view and taking a hands-off approach isn't good enough.

Everything we have has been given to us by God - our spiritual gifts, our physical talents, our money and our earth. And the Parable of the Talents shows us that what we do with what God has given us matters. God has given us our money - and not just 10 per cent of it. God has given us this earth. As good stewards, we need to start asking the difficult WWJB and HWJTTE questions. And we need to ensure that everything God has given us is invested wisely.

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The Lord's Prayer - God's will on Earth

When we pray for God’s will to be done on earth, what exactly are we praying for? Are we praying for God’s will to be done in our own lives? Are we praying for God’s will to be done in our lives and the lives of people we know and love? Are we praying for God’s will to be done in the lives of Christians all over the world? Are we praying for God’s will to be done in the lives of people all over the world? Are we praying for social and global structures to be changed so that they reflect more of God’s will? Or are we actually praying for the Earth, the entire planet?

I was in a conversation with someone the other week who believed that ‘God’s will on Earth’ meant ‘God’s will for all Christians.’ He thought it quite obvious that we wouldn’t be praying for the Earth, as in the actual Earth. His reasoning was that because we say ‘Our Father’ at the beginning of the prayer, it must be Christians that are talking and therefore the prayer only applies for Christians.

As I pointed out to him, I use the term ‘Our Father’ because that is how Jesus taught us to address God, but that doesn’t mean I am praying only for myself. I am asking ‘Our Father’ to do his will in all the Earth. I care about the Earth and so I want God’s will to be done in it. My friend responded that just because I care about the Earth doesn’t mean that God does.

However, doesn’t the fact that Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth show that, yes, he does care? After all, Jesus could have taught us to pray ‘Your will be done in our lives.’ He didn’t. He taught us to pray, ‘Your will be done on earth.’

The Lord’s Prayer is so well-known that it’s easy to say the words, without really thinking about what they mean. I usually say the Lord’s Prayer with my children just before they go to bed. And I must admit that there have been times when I may have been saying the Lord’s Prayer, but I was thinking, ‘God, please let them go to sleep quickly tonight so I can get some study done.’ It’s so easy to slide into praying for our will, rather than God’s.

But the line from the Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we are praying for God’s will - not ours. Just because we are the ones addressing God doesn’t mean that he has to confine Himself to what interests us.

Earth is a very big place. And God’s will for Earth - that’s too big for any human to get their head around. So even if we’re not actually praying for our will, it’s hard not to limit God’s will to what our idea of earth should be. And honestly, I think that’s okay. I think it’s better to pray for something specific and actually mean something by those words than it is to pray more generally and have no concept of what you’re praying for.

But I do think we need to remind ourselves that we are praying for God’s will for earth - not just our lives, not just individuals, not just people - but the whole Earth. And because we were taught to pray for it, that must mean God has a will for Earth. We don’t need to understand it. We don’t need to figure out what His will might be. God is perfectly capable of figuring out His will without our help. We just need to pray, as Jesus taught us, that God’s will be done on earth.  

Intelligent life in the universe - what if we're not the ones lagging behind but the ones paving the way?

            My son loves Doctor Who. And one of the things I’ve noticed with Doctor Who is that human beings come across as quite backward compared to the rest of the universe. It is usually the other species that are far more advanced, while humans are lagging far behind.

            That makes for good science fiction. There wouldn’t be too much you could do with a science fiction series if all other life forms in the universe were less advanced than us. It is also the situation most likely to fire people’s imaginations. If we accept there is intelligent life form out there, we want to imagine them as some superior race, filled with things we have never dreamed about.

            While watching the television series, ‘The Universe’ recently, I heard that the universe is still in its infancy. Yes, it’s been around for a very long time. But that long time is as nothing compared to how long it’s still got to go.

            And the question that immediately posed for me is, if the universe is still in its infancy, then wouldn’t any intelligent life forms around now end up being the oldest/most advanced life forms in the future? It may not be that we end up being discovered by some superior and far advanced race. Instead, we may end up being the race that searches for life forms on other planets that are not as old/advanced as us.

            This is all hypothetical of course but it should make us really think about what we do, here and now, on earth.

            In a family, younger children often copy what older children do. Therefore, parents will tell the eldest child to set a good example for his younger siblings. They have a certain responsibility because of their seniority in age. If human beings do end up being the oldest intelligent life form on earth, we need to consider what example we are setting for those species that are younger than ours?

            Another thing we should think about is how we are paving the way for those who follow after us. The forerunners of any society mould to a certain extent the people that come afterwards. Our laws, institutions and societal norms have evolved from laws, institutions and societal norms of the past. They may have been changed and improved. But the society we live in now would not be the same society if history had been different. We build on the past and the past determines our future. So if future intelligent life will be modelled on ours, what kind of life will it be?

            At this stage, you might be thinking that I’ve been watching too much Doctor Who. Quite possibly you’re right. This is definitely the kind of conversation that my young Doctor Who fan loves. But as I’ve pushed the boundaries of imagination quite a bit already, why not push it a bit more.

            Imagine a time, billions of years from now, when there are many intelligent life forms in the universe, many of them in contact with each other. In a classroom a group of young aliens are being taught the history of the universe. Some species (not earthlings) are named as the forerunners of intelligent life.

            Young Johnny - it’s a universal rule that school kids who put up their hands in class are always called Johnny, regardless of which planet they’re from - puts up his hand and says, ‘But Miss, I heard that there was a form of intelligent life called earthlings that came before them. Only they destroyed themselves.’ 

            The teacher says, ‘Nonsense, Johnny. That’s just a fairytale. There’s no evidence that intelligent life ever existed on earth.’

            Sound far-fetched? Yeah, probably. Like I said, too much Doctor Who. But far-fetched or not, it’s worth thinking about.

            Our actions here on earth do not just have consequences for here and now, but far into the future, maybe even beyond our planet. Okay, maybe not to a classroom billions of years in the future, where a little boy calls Johnny asks about the fabled ‘earthlings’. And let’s face it, it’s pretty difficult to imagine the consequences that far into the future anyway. But maybe if we start looking centuries into the future, that would be a good start.