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Sunday alcohol sales in Fayetteville? Give it a rest My mom grew up on the farm in Upson County with farm chores galore: fields to work, animals to feed, eggs to gather. They worked hard, but when Sunday came, they ceased work. Sunday was a day of worship and rest. Of course, chickens were fed and cows were milked, but Sunday was God’s day. My mom passed this principle down to us boys. When Sunday came, there was no wondering where we’d be on Sunday morning. We were in church as a family. And there was no wondering what we’d do after lunch. Everyone lay down for a rest, if not a nap. This practice is based on the fourth of the Ten Commandments and is found in Exodus 20:8-11. Interestingly, this is the longest commandment, meaning God really wanted to emphasize something important. So we need to pay attention. My emphasis is not on the when of the Sabbath as much as on the what. In order to understand the what, we need to understand two words in Exodus 20:8-10, which reads, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.” The word Sabbath means rest. The root literally means to catch one’s breath. God says to set apart one day each week to rest and catch our breath, both physically and spiritually. That was God’s pattern. God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day, He rested. God didn’t need the rest, but was trying to make a point by introducing a simple strategy to help us battle the stress of life. When He gave the Ten Commandments, He took this point one step further by declaring that His day was holy. The word holy means to set apart, to separate. God ordained this day to be set apart and different from the other days of the week. The reason we cease work is so that we can gather with God’s people on God’s day in corporate worship. We rest as we cease from labor and reenergize as we rejoice in the Lord. We refuel our spirits as we rest our bodies. So what does the Sabbath principle have to do with the proposal to vote to offer Sunday alcohol sales in Fayetteville? We don’t need to offer alcoholic beverages in our restaurants on Sundays. Why not? Other cities do. And our citizens are driving to nearby cities to eat in their restaurants and to order their drinks. Does that make it right for Fayetteville? My mom used to respond to my everybody else is doing it rationale with, “If everybody else is jumping off a cliff, should you also jump off a cliff?” Why can’t we have a different standard and expectation for our community? But our local restaurant owners are losing money, money that could stay in our town. This whole Sunday alcohol sales issue is driven by pure greed. The liquor industry is not satisfied with having six days. They want the entire week. Our restaurant owners think they can make additional profit if they can sell drinks on Sunday. Do we have to be driven by greed? Someone once asked a millionaire, “How much is enough?” He answered, “Just a little bit more.” I say, give it a rest. Apply the Sabbath principle. Make Sunday different. Set it apart from the other six days. We can live with one day without. It would be great if we didn’t sell it at all. I strongly encourage Fayetteville citizens to vote no to Sunday alcohol sales. Sunday is a holy day, and we simply don’t need Sunday alcohol sales in Fayetteville. login to post comments | Dr. David L. Chancey's blog
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