One of my friends spent most of his career as a butcher in various grocery stores. He worked for one man who placed a hot dog on the scales at the beginning of the day. Everyone who bought meat at his store unwittingly paid for that hot dog.

I wonder if the additional money the man made with his hot dog scheme was worth the damage it did to his soul. The same can be said of the minor and major injustices that take place every day. Yes, innocent people are harmed by this behavior, but those who act unjustly toward others are also damaged.

Justice is a major theme in the Bible, and Isaiah proclaimed God’s command and blessing on the just.

Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come
and my deliverance be revealed.

Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil. (Isaiah 56:1-2)

God promises salvation and deliverance for people who maintain justice. God’s position cries out for action far more than for explanation.

The butcher in the grocery store didn’t need more explanation. He needed to stop adding a hot dog to the scales. The same is true for the many “acceptable” injustices that are part of modern-day practices.

God’s inclusion of the Sabbath needs both explanation and behavioral change. Observing the Sabbath is much more than attending worship services on Sunday. What is involved, and why does God make such a big deal about it?

In today’s YouTube video, Rudy Ross contends that observance of the Sabbath involves not creating on the Sabbath.

I think Rudy is right. I also think the rest we observe on the Sabbath is a conscious choice to declare our trust in God. God is more important than work. Humans don’t have to work 7 days a week, because God is able to sustain them without their labor.

The hot dog merchant who cheated his customers made the few dollars he acquired more important than his relationship with God. When we observe justice and the Sabbath, we place God in the first place He deserves.

More than Enough

Steven Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, had a significant impact on my life. I have incorporated many of his principles into my life.

Covey’s understanding of what I call a “scarcity mentality” has resonated with me for years. If we believe the “pie” is limited, then we must protect our slice of the pie at all costs. If we believe the “pie” is unlimited, we are free to share what we have with others.

What we think about the limited or unlimited nature of the “pie” will determine our approach to justice and the Sabbath. The hot dog store owner wanted to get every piece of the pie that was possible to the extent of being willing to cheat his customers.

People who deny the vulnerable and outsiders their slice of the pie also have a limited view of the pie. Since the pie is only so large, we can’t let those people get what is ours, their actions reveal.

God sees the “pie” as being as unlimited as His power to bless. Rather than dividing humanity into them and us categories, God invites traditionally excluded humans to the spiritual party.

Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people,”
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”

For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant.

These I will bring to my holy mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.

Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel:
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered. (Isaiah 56:3-4, 7-8)

Does it surprise you that God never sees a person as an immigrant, outsider, or a “less-than” human?

Eunuchs were the “less-than” humans in history. They were prohibited from worship in the temple, because of their physical condition. Foreigners have always been outsiders and denied access to the insiders’ slice of the pie.

If they declare their dependence on God, signified by observance of the Sabbath, they are welcomed by the One and only One who matters.

In fact, God gathers these outcasts and foreigners and invites them into the family. God’s family is not them and us, but it is we.

He designates the temple in Jerusalem as a house of prayer for everyone. It is the place where every human can enter into a personal relationship with our loving God and Savior.

If this is God’s opinion in the matter, should we not seek to feel and act as He does?

YouTube Discussion

If you want to see a video presentation of this, join Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and me as we discuss this on YouTube today.