Benefits of the Sabbath
by Richard C. Nickels
“When you search for a job, you look for a company with attractive compensation and benefits. In fact, in some cases the benefits may be even more important to an employee than the salary he receives. Employees are interested in company-paid pension or retirement plans, medical insurance, as well as paid vacation and sick days. In the United States, company employee benefit costs are typically 30-40% of salaries. It is surprising that some employees do not avail themselves of company-paid benefits. For example, a relative of mine has a good job for a stable company, yet he does not participate in the company’s 401-k retirement plan, foregoing the company match of his tax-free contributions to his retirement savings account. The Sabbath has much more valuable benefits than any employer can provide. However, most of the world does not participate in the Sabbath Benefit Plan.
They opt out of the best benefits in the universe. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). Or, in other words, “The Sabbath was made for the benefit of man.” Let us examine some of the many benefits of the Sabbath, and see how we can fully participate. The Sabbath is a family day, a day of joy, a meeting with God, a day of equality, a day of freedom, a day of remembrance, a palace in time, a service day, and even, if you understand it correctly, a day of work. Family Day The daily grind causes us to rush to get the kids off to school in the morning, get to work through rush hour traffic, work a hard day, return in rush hour traffic, rush to shop and prepare meals, and often rush to a game or school activity in the evening. We meet our family members in passing, and quickly conduct the necessary business of family affairs during the week. The Sabbath ends all rush hours. It allows us to take quality time with our loved ones. Our sons and our daughters are to keep the Sabbath with us (Exodus 20:10). On Sabbath, the family takes time out to get to know each other, to eat together, to talk and engage in quality activities together, such as…”
(This article is an excerpt from the March-April 2004 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)
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