A Sabbath Observation

A Sabbath Observation
“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.”

 I’ve been reading Titan – a biography of the great oil mogul John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil – one of the most successful American businesses of all time. Because he eventually turned Standard Oil into a monopoly, Rockefeller’s reputation in history straddles the line between famous and infamous. Some see him as a great businessman while others seem has as a shadowy evil figure.

In all of the noise about Rockefeller’s life, his Christian upbringing and strong Christian faith have gotten lost. One aspect of Rockefeller’s faith we could all learn from is his Sabbath observance. Consider this observation from Titan: “Sabbath observance was de rigueur, and if colleagues wrote to him when they should have been in church, they tended not to put the real dates on their letters.” Rockefeller not only observed the Sabbath himself, he expected his colleagues and employees to do the same.

Isn’t it interesting that Sabbath observance is “de rigueur” in one of the most successful businesses of our own day – Chick Fil A? Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick Fil A, had this to say: “Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to
him.”

May we too “honor God and show our loyalty to him” by keeping the Sabbath.

Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster