When you hear the phrase “traditional living,” what comes to mind? Is it the concept of bygone days when our free time allowed us to disconnect from the mundane, or perhaps a childlike nostalgia for the old-fashioned way of living freely and easily? Back then – even for non-Christians – Sunday was seen as a day of rest and worship. It was the most special day of the week.
These days, however, Sunday no longer signifies rest. Our gadgets and gizmos consume our time. In fact, they fill up our time. Instead of stepping outside to breathe fresh air, we breathe life into these inanimate objects. Sunday has become a day to check off tasks from our to-do lists, stealing more hours for work.
How many apps are on your hard drive and mobile phone? How many times have you upgraded your smart devices?
What’s the point, you ask. How does all this relate to Sunday rest?
What we’re getting at is that Sunday has been lost. We’re working harder and longer hours. Technology has driven this shift; it has crept into our lives, taking up not only space but also valuable time. Wasn’t technology supposed to simplify things?
Do you have trouble managing your time? No problem – there’s an app for that. Don’t know what to serve the kids for dinner but don’t feel like cooking after a long day at work? Again, no problem – there’s an app for that. Worried that your home, equipped with expensive audio and video accessories, is unmonitored during the day? Worry no more – your cable company can watch over your possessions like a hawk and send you alerts – even on Sundays!
What Sunday Meant – Yesterday
Before our technological bounty took over our lives, Sunday was a sacred ritual of worship, rest, and leisure. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and children took Sunday off. They slept in, read the paper over a hearty, home-cooked breakfast, went to church, and spent time with family and friends.
People also dressed in their “Sunday best” for worship. After church, there were family activities – picnic lunches, kite-flying, a trip to the zoo, or a drive out to the country to “scavenge” in flea markets and antique stores. These were events that brought families together. For many, Sunday was like a “storybook beautiful girl,” as Jeannette Walls described in The Glass Castle. Life was easy and untethered, and you didn’t need to live in a castle to feel privileged and pampered. It was just the way of life that people clung to – a day to relax and enjoy, where you could let your hair down (or up), and, most importantly, it was there for the asking. Sundays were free, and deciding how to spend them was a surefire way to challenge your creativity.
In the ’50s and ’60s, telephone booths were everywhere. If you were running late or forgot your baseball or hockey gear, you’d walk to a pay phone and call someone who could help. “Frugal” was a part of everyone’s vocabulary; children were gifted piggy banks to save for a rainy day – whether for a shiny new bike or a pair of roller skates. There was no such thing as depositing a check with your cell phone. You had to go to the bank – and only during the workweek. Banks open on Sundays? That was unheard of. Now, people expect it.
What Sunday Means…Today
The Beatles sang Eight Days a Week, but the song was about telling their lover that they needed eight days a week to show their love, to hug, to hold – because “it’s not enough to show I care.” If this song were rewritten to reflect our busy lives, how would the lyrics go?
Eight days a week would allow me to:
- Do an extra load of laundry
- Open my store on Sunday and extend store hours during the week
- Shop for bargains instead of buying on impulse
- Rake the lawn, continue building my website, rewrite my presentation for Tuesday, speak to an accountant about my retirement, schedule playdates for the kids, rush to yoga class
- Decorate the mother-in-law’s guest room
- Coach the neighborhood league
- Find a caregiver for an aging parent
- Check the Facebook page of my teen
- Floss more, walk more, cook more, read more consumer reports about the latest flat-screen TVs, all-in-one printers, docking stations, and mid-size servers
While eight days a week isn’t possible, we’re forced to squeeze every second of our time and every ounce of energy into our 7-day week, our schedules growing tighter and tighter.
For workaholics holding 1, 2, or even 3 jobs, it’s a merry-go-round of endless tasks. Work doesn’t end at 5 p.m. – it stretches well into the evening and often spills over into the weekend. Mom heads one direction, dad another. And the kids? They won’t miss mom and dad. They have too many photos to post on Facebook and too many tweets to write – otherwise, they’ll lose their followers.
With all the hours spent working, are we really ahead?
Yes, of course – if we measure “success” by our possessions. The 55” flat-screen offers more viewing options than the 30” model, the car seats have state-of-the-art heating mechanisms, our homes have 3 bathrooms instead of 1, and Breville Oracle Touch espresso machines are located on the first and second floors – plus one in the basement.
Our portfolio has $100,000 worth of stocks and T-Bills, but we purchased them on margin (meaning we owe our broker $100,000).
Fly a kite? What planet are you living on? My drone’s in the garage – it’s way more challenging.
And let’s not forget about our physical well-being. Sagging jaws, wrinkled lips, eye bags, aging hands? There’s a solution for all of that. Have you tried googling “cosmetic procedures”? The options are endless!
No wonder.
No wonder we work on Sundays. Our conspicuous consumption is on autopilot. There’s the stress. Our grandparents rarely complained about it.
Consider these statistics from CNN and CareerBuilder.com about people’s work habits:
- Among modern developed societies, the U.S. worker has the least vacation time;
- In 2005, 33% said they checked the office while on vacation;
- Half of workers report feeling stress on the job;
- 44% of mothers think about work while at home, and 25% bring work home;
- 19% of working mothers say they often work weekends (36% of dads bring work home; 30% work on weekends);
- 37% of dads say they would change jobs if the new one offered a better work-life balance.
Alright, you defend the work ethic. You argue, “I love working. My work defines me. People in the office depend on me. My family sees me as a good provider.”
But as Minister Josh Graves said: “The reason we are called to take a day of rest is simple. Humans tend to forget that we did not make the world and that the world does not depend upon us.”
Graves reminds us that “the world can run just fine without me.”
Sunday: Bring It Back!
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel or embark on a mission to change the world. Let’s simply put Sunday back into our lives.
Take these words from Dr. Eowyn to heart: “Whether you think so or not, you need to rest on Sundays. Unlike God, you do not have unlimited creative energy. It’s a scientific fact that the human brain and body can only handle so much activity before deteriorating dramatically. The vast majority of us are overworked and stressed out, teetering on the brink of burnout. In fact, being busy is a badge of honor in some circles.”
See you Sunday?
