A Christian news service is reporting on “accommodation for religion” issues, including a Christian mail carrier who refused to work on Sunday, even when Amazon mandated Sunday delivery. Without going into the merits of whether or not we NEED Sunday delivery, and without discounting the importance of religious liberty in our country, can Christians push for their rights too hard? 

One issue is there are lots of jobs that require work on certain days or around the clock: nurses, doctors, police, firefighters, shift workers of all kinds, people in the military. Does God not want his people in those positions? Or is it more important to God that he/we have a presence in as many walks of life as possible than that we observe a certain day as our Sabbath?

Another issue is do I want to be known as the guy who won’t do his fair share of the work? Who values his perfect record of church attendance more than his responsibility to serve?

Jesus was flexible. Why can’t we be? He healed on the Sabbath, he touched lepers, he talked with a Samaritan woman, none of which would be done by an observant Jew.

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. (Mark 3.1 – 5, ESV)

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8.1 – 3, ESV, emphasis mine)

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” … The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) (John 4.7 – 9, ESV)