This day is not your own

If you’re like many people, Saturday and Sunday are your favorite days of the week. Or, for those who have to work on those days, your favorites are probably your days off. Days of freedom. Days to yourself, when you have fewer obligations and can feel free to do what your heart desires. Ultimately, for many people the weekend is a time to put duty on hold and enjoy. 

It’s widely acknowledged among sociologists and social psychologists that today we live in a culture, particularly in the United States, where the focus on the self is paramount. Those born in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s have even been labeled, although not without debate, “Generation Me” because they’ve grown up in a culture that has often valued individual self-esteem above practically all else. And while other cultures share differing values, it could be argued this trend of individualism is increasing around the world.

While this can be positive in that it encourages each individual to pursue what brings them joy, it can also have a variety of negative consequences. One of these involves the practice of faith and religion.

For example, even if one is religious, it might be all too tempting to sleep in on Sunday mornings and skip church because one “just doesn’t feel like going.” If we’re not careful, this attitude can blossom beyond apathy about church-going into total skepticism about God’s existence. Before long, the religious individual has shrugged off religion entirely.

The most stable path is to allow the one omnipresent God to be at the center of all our days.

Some may view this development of thought as progress if it means less emphasis on ritual. But if we write God out of our lives because we want, even in subtle ways, to be “as gods” ourselves (see Genesis 3:5 ), we are left without a compass to chart our journey in life. Ultimately, each of us must discover that the self is an unreliable anchor that will leave us lost at sea. As many people would honestly attest, the human self’s hopes and dreams are often fluid, changing, and unsatisfied.

The most stable path—the means to truly find lasting fulfillment—is to allow the one omnipresent God to be at the center of all our days. Yes, even on the weekends. We can each be willing to sacrifice the view that a day—any day—is simply our own. In reality, each day is God’s day. We can humbly turn our thoughts to God to be willing to do and be what He is causing us to do and be each day. Then we can happily follow through on the guidance we receive. God has only good in store for each one of us, so we can be sure that whatever God directs us to do will only bless us and, in some sweet measure, uplift the whole of humanity.

On your next weekend, or day off, instead of waking up and asking yourself what you want to do, try asking what God wants you to do. If you follow through on this prayer, you’ll likely find you’re having a thoroughly enjoyable and refreshing day!