Where is My Honor?

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

When I was a child in the 70s and 80s I grew up going to church with my parents.  We would go early Sunday because the morning service consisted of an hour Sunday school followed by another hour to hour and a half worship service which children attended.  This was at a small Menonite church on the South side of Chicago in the Bridge Port area.  Most of the time after service we would end up at the Silver Dollar family resturant with a large group from the church and fellowship would continue.  In those days even though I was a child something seemed miraculous in the depth of community.  I remember there weren’t as many stores open. My mother used to read to me each night.  I can’t remember the book but I remember the father in the book sitting down with his family after Sunday services and the afternoon was dedicated to reading from God’s word.

One of my favorite moves is Chariots of Fire.  This movie takes us back even further in time to Christianity during the early 20th century, sometimes called the age of the missionaries in the church.  The movie portrays the lives of several British athletes leading up to their participation in the 1924 Olympics in Paris.  Standing apart from these Ivy leage scholars is a Scotish missionaries son, Eric Liddell.  Eric tells his sister in the movie “God made me for a purpose and He made me fast and when I run I feel His pleasure.”  Before the trials for the 100 meter race were to take place on Sunday, Liddell made it clear that he couldn’t run on the Sabbath.  In the clip below he is brought before the Prince of Whales and several Lords and Dukes in an attempt to change his mind.  Would that I could stand so firm.

The Sunday of the trials Eric Liddell is found preaching at the Church of Scotland in Paris.  He reads from Isaiah 40 and in this clip from the movie the honor and glory of God is awe inspiring.

As I grew up and we moved on to other churches I still look back at this community and commitement to God as something grander then my present experience.  Now with a family of my own it just seems like everything is moving so fast.  I find myself running to church and then running home to be at some gathering or other.  Over the past several months I have herd several people comment that they go to the early service at their church so they don’t waste the whole day.  I have found myself rounding the kids up to get to the early service myself so that we can participate in some fun activities after church.

Isaiah 58:13-14
13 “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking  your own word, 14 Then you will take delight  in the LORD, And I will make you ride on  the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Malachi 1:6a

6″ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you

1 Samuel 2:30b

For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

Does something seem out of sorts for you as it does for me…?  The thing is, when we say we go to the early service to not waste the day we are essentially saying that going to church, that part of the day, is a waste.  The purpose of Sunday worship is exaltation, education and edification.  So essentially we are saying time spent exalting God, time spent learning about God and time spent in introspection about our life and relationship with God is a waste of time.   I don’t know about you but something doesn’t sound right there…  Seems like a massive priority adjustment is in order.