Chariots of Fire

Hey. So a few evenings ago, my sons and I watched this classic film called Chariots of Fire. Very good movie. It's based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, he says, and Harold Abrahams, who was an English Jew who ran to overcame prejudice. Now, at a key point in the story, Eric refuses to run the 100 meter distance race in the Olympics because the race happens to be on a Sunday and he wants to honor the Lord's day. Now, I won't spoil the story for you, in case you haven't seen it, but at one key point in the movie, Eric reads a Bible verse from Samuel 2:30. It says, he who honors me, I will honor. He who honors me, I will honor. And he then proceeds to go out and run one of the best races of his life. So why am I telling you this? Well, if you read some of my writings, then you're well aware of the multitude of benefits derived from having one complete, luxurious rest day each week. That's a day on which you're able to catch just a tiny glimpse of what eternal bliss and rest forevermore will be like in the afterlife. Now, one of the best parts of my week is waking up each Sunday morning and knowing I have nothing to do but worship God, play my guitar, hit a few tennis or pickleballs, go on adventures, be with my family, feast and generally just chillax. Now, Eric Liddell is a perfect example of someone who also recognizes that and also recognizes that this concept of keeping the Sabbath is a core part of glorifying and being in union with God. Now, in America, we're a country founded on Christian principles. 100 years ago in America, you would have been hard pressed to find just about any business open on the Sabbath. People knew what was good for them, and there was and is a deep wisdom behind that concept of including a full rest day each week. So on that day, people were relaxing, going to church, helping each other, having meals, hiking, swimming, fishing, playing. But nowadays, aside from a few random restaurants that don't seem to be open for Sunday dinners, it's pretty difficult to find any establishment that's actually closed for business on a Sunday. Now, worse yet, Sundays are often devoted to the worship of sporting gods and goddesses in a giant arena where people pay money to participate in one of the most glaring examples of modern commercialization of the Sabbath. So frankly, for me at least, it's hard these days to honor Sundays. It's hard to make Sure, I have all my groceries stocked up so I don't need to go to the grocery store to prepare a Sunday meal. It's hard to turn down super bowl party invitations. It's hard to not dive into extra work and business catch up with those several extra free hours that sometimes turn up on a Sunday. It's hard to creatively figure out ways not to spend money or frequent businesses on a Sunday. A big part of that is that I grew up as an average Christian in America, knowing that I was supposed to honor Sundays and the Sabbath day and keep it holy. But treating that commandment is more like a friendly suggestion that is in actuality pretty much impossible to follow. And in modern day times though, it isn't that impossible once you actually start to try. So anyways, at one point during the Chariots of Fire movie, a young boy is chided for throwing football on Sunday. And here's the thing, I think that's too much. I don't think Sunday recreational sports are wrong. Nor is helping your neighbor, nor is keeping a hospital open for emergency treatments, nor is going on a bike ride. I mean, heck, if on a random Sunday a whole bunch of athletes want to wander into an arena and beat each other up because they love doing it, and a whole bunch of people want to go watch those athletes for free because they find it relaxing to go watch a good game. And I think that's even okay since nobody's paying for or profiting from any of it and it's all just for the love of the game. But I want to encourage you to approach your Sundays or Saturdays, if that's your Sabbath, with a bit more reverence, honor and appreciation for that special day of rest. Just imagine if we all did that, then more and more businesses wouldn't be open on Sunday. We could eventually return to an easier, less stressful weekend in which we could barely even work or frequent a business on Sunday if we wanted to. We'd finally have an official day of rest each week and having it wouldn't be weird or out of the ordinary. The problem is, most folks won't do this because who wants to tell their son he can't play in the basketball tournament finals since they're on a Sunday? Or tell their daughter she shouldn't go to the movie matinee with her friends on a Sunday afternoon, or tell themselves they need to skip that afternoon of work, catch up on a Sunday? See, most folks aren't wired up to be world changers like that swimming upstream. How about you? What are you going to do with that day of rest? And how are you going to keep it holy? Think about that. Because it can be life changing. Thanks for watching.