21

Thoughts for the Sabbath

by Whaleoil on December 10, 2011

Regular readers will know that I am a Christian. They will also know that though I was brought up a Presbyterian and lost my way for a time that a good friend brought me back to God in my darkest years. He is a Seventh Day Adventist and since that time 6 years ago I have every Monday having lunch with a small group of business blokes sharing our experiences and learning about God. It is a journey and it is hugely educational.

My good friend, along with several others in my group are very wealthy people. They attribute their wealth in a large part to several things:

  • Giving, as in tithing. These guys give a huge amount. They have given away more than some people earn in a lifetime of working.
  • Honouring the Sabbath. They do no work on the Sabbath, their businesses close their doors and they do not transact.
  • Only investing in good money projects. Gambling, tobacco, pornography…you get the drift are out.

I have learned a great deal from these guys. Not through preaching, not through bible bashing but through watching and experiencing these Christian men living life well.

Now don’t get me wrong, we are not sooky la-la shadows of men in our group. We are all pretty larger than life, we take no prisoners, there are no sooks in our army of friends. We are also all sinners. There is no finger pointing, no blaming and we maintain a open and frank discussion amongst the team. We have drinkers, rooters, liars, cheaters, swearers, bashers, shirkers and criminals, but we are all working to better ourselves.

Saturday is the Sabbath for SDA members, and so I have been thinking about sharing some of my experiences on the Sabbath. I have been hesitant, but the catalyst was reading yesterday a post on Andrew Sullivan where there has been discussion about Christian sports people being open and proud about their christianity.

There was a quote from Aaron Rodgers, ironically pointed out to me by a non-Christian friend who thought it may be useful one day for a post for me. It resonated with me as it clearly describes my experience of my christianity:

“I feel like my stance and my desire has always been to follow a quote from St. Francis of Assisi, who said, ‘Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.’ So basically, I’m not an over-the-top, or an in-your-face kind of guy with my faith. I would rather people have questions about why I act the way I act, whether they view it as positive or not, and ask questions, and then given an opportunity at some point, then you can talk about your faith a little bit. I firmly believe, just personally, what works for me, and what I enjoy doing is letting my actions speak about the kind of character that I want to have, and following that quote from St. Francis.”

Anyway, I thought that I would leave my readers with that thought on the Sabbath today. I hope this post lets you understand a little bit more about me and my beliefs.

Tagged: • • • • •

Related posts

  • Symgardiner

    Amen!

  • Gazzaw

    Onyer WO! It’s a brave man that puts his faith out there for all to see in our ‘brave new world’.

  • Kimbo

    It is one of the great ironies of modern life that about the only group that has tried to protect a form of sabbath has been the trade union movement, with their opposition to trading on Good Friday, Easter Day, Christmas, and Anzac Day morning. While those holidays are not ordained in Scripture as with the Sabbath (or Lords Day on a Sunday as interpreted by your Presbyterian forebears), nevertheless those public holidays are a form of national rest similar to the Sabbath feasts of Israel mandated by Moses – Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost/Shavouth, and Tabernacles/Succoth.
    Ultimately they demonstrate the principle that the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. While work and production are necessities of life, people are not ultimately economic production units (as envisaged by both right and left wing extremeists)- they are human beings, created in the image of God, with rest and recreation (literally: re-creation) as a necessary and welcome aspect of life.
    Whatever day you enjoy a sabbath (and this is where I disagree with your SDA mates, WO), it is a necessary feature of personal, family, community and national life. “I shop therefore I am” is a reprehansible dehumainsing philosophy.

  • Ben R001

    Amen WO. One pariticular line caught my attention; ” I have learned a great deal from these guys. Not through preaching, not through bible bashing but through watching and experiencing these Christian men living life well.”
    Something I personally adhere to in my faith and ‘works.’ :-)

  • Mattyman

    Great stuff Cam. Looking forward the future posts.

  • Lesley

    Amen and spot on Cameron. Be encouraged.

  • Johnboy

    I used to be a Presbyterian then I met a Catholic girl that went off like a rocket.

    Forty odd years later we are both happy atheists!

  • Mister

    Cam you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. . . But, it saddens me when such a smart fella gets sucked in by religion. 

    Watch some Bill Maher and read some Richard Dawkins, do a bit more hunting, and realise that all you need is faith in yourself. Not imaginary pixies at the bottom of the garden !

  • jonno1

    Well put Cam, especially the comment on tithing.
    Let me tell you a funny story – many years ago when we were young, naive & idealistic my wife & I were encouraged to give 25% of our income for a year towards a church building project. I won’t add any more detail, though this may resonate with some readers.
    Anyway, we did this with a good heart & discovered that God has a great sense of humour, as that year we had three windfalls: won a school raffle hamper, won another raffle or similar that I can’t remember now, and won Star Bingo (yes, that’s how long ago it was). The latter was worth around $2000 (some cash, some grocery vouchers) which went a long way towards what we had given, although my wife promptly distributed most of the vouchers among her friends, bless her. BTW we haven’t won anything before or since, not even lotto (of course that may be because I have some understanding of statistics so don’t buy tickets).
    Also I agree with the concept of a weekly day of rest, although I’m not too hung up on which day to observe.

  • Spanishbride

    Hi Mister, whether God exists or not, certain truths are self evident in my opinion. I completed Landmark Education 7 years ago and it has nothing to do with religion. However, the truths and life lessons I learnt there have many similarities to Christian teachings. My point is that you do not need to believe in God to find strength inside yourself. If some people chose to call the strength they find God, or from God, what does it matter? It gets them through the day and helps them survive the adventure we call life.

  • Anonymous

    Agree entirely WO and jonno1…mirrors my own experience….the year that I spent expanding a Presbyterian Church was very enriching both spiritually and financially  

  • Anonymous

    Conservative Party?

  • Dave Payne

    How do you reconsile with the mass of contradictions in the bible? Compare the gospel accounts of the resurrection. The women who go to the tomb are different, John’s gospel states they saw Jesus there, but the other three say they didn’t etc.

    • Symgardiner

      A wise person once described the gospels as news channels – say One News, 3News, BBC News and Fox News. They report the same event but sometimes you wouldn’t know it without knowing the biases/viewpoints of each of the channels.

    • Anonymous

      “John’s gospel states they saw Jesus there, but the other three say they didn’t etc”

      First Matthew also states that Jesus appeared to them. Second Mark and Luke do not say that they didn’t – they are silent on the matter. All four Gospel authors are writing to different audiences and highlight different aspects of the story. The fact that they do not include a certain detail doesn’t mean they don’t know about it.As for the different women Luke tells us “It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles” so it is a number of women in the group. John just chooses to focus on Mary Magdalene (he does not say she was the only one there as some people seem to suggest), Matthew just mentions her and another (but does not say ‘only’), similarly Mark just mentions three women, probably known to his audience. This is common reporting method even to this day.

  • Blair Mulholland

    Gotta laugh at the fulla who suggested listening to Bill Maher – the odious fucker who called Sarah Palin a cunt on live television.

    You can’t find out about the existence or otherwise of God by reading a book.  God calls you and you experience Him in your life.  I trust my own experiences over whatever Richard Dawkins has to say in a book.

    God is gradually teaching me not to call people like Bill Maher a “fucker”, but it will take some time I suppose… ;-)

  • YNFEM

    Excellent post! Good on you for talking about your faith, politics would be much better if there were more people out there with Christian beliefs who led by example! 

    • Cstaff121

      gotta laugh too at the ‘people with christian beliefs who led by example’ comment. What example was that exactly? The one where Jehovah led by example by calling for all the babies heads to be dashed on the ground I suppose.
      it’s always a drag being an skeptic – you always find you know more of the bible than the Christian.

  • Pdubyahnz

    Big ups to you, although personally I think it’s all nonsense and that, however I’m me you’re you and we’re all individuals. Comfort is where comfort is, we all have faith in different things.

  • Haha

    Burn the witch!

  • Seán

    Good post Whale. Solid.
    Though last year you posted that Catholics aren’t real Christians. Do you still stand by that?