The Day of Rest

The day of rest, the Sabbath, was instituted during creation week. We all know that from the book of Genesis. In the Worldwide Church of God - and offshoots - that was translated into a day of travelling long distances to come listen to either an audio or a sermon, depending on which country you lived in and whether you had a residing minister.

The idea was that since the faithful were so few in number it was logical that there could not be local congregations but only very few congregations meeting. People felt unique.

That one feeling was CORRECT. But not correct from a Biblical perspective.

People who didn't have cars had to take public transportation, and that means others had to WORK so "the faithful" could get to their Sabbath meetings. The day of rest, furthermore, became a day of burdensome work for deacons (and deaconesses) who were often faced with setting things up before people began coming in...

The team spirit needed to assist was few and far between. I know because I was one of the few who assisted our local deacon at the time, William F Pentecost, with setting things up in Copenhagen. Translators (of which we were three to five in regular attendance) arrived early since we had to set up the translation box so listeners who couldn't understand English got a Danish translation - or vice versa when the local church elder preached in Norwegian, when people then needed English translations.

Don't misunderstand. I am grateful for the experience in direct translation. That part has qualified many of us in the art of translation at a level only few have experienced. But it could hardly be called a day of rest...

That remembrance has also come to mind when I later discovered the many areas of christianity where things are "explained" away. It lies at the foundation of the confusion of which Armstrongism was a big part for the many who were members of either WCG or the offshoots such as PCG and LCG.

A day of rest, as God intended it, is a day of worship of God, rest from work and focusing upon the important things in life. Supporting others that work on that day is hardly letting lights shine in the way the ministry wanted to indicate.

What are your thoughts about your experiences in the WCG or offshoots? You are welcome to comment. :-)