Closed Sunday: Making the Best Use of the Time

Ephesians 5:15 provides us motivation to study and apply Proverbs to our lives—“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” Verse 16 continues, “making the best use of the time because the days are evil.” In Ecclesiastes 12:1, Solomon expresses the same sediment about the fleeting nature of our days when he writes, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come…” If we are going to walk wisely, we must become wise stewards of our days (time).

On Sunday we observed that the sluggard—

1. Considered himself the owner of his days (time).

2. Wrongly believes that there would always be a tomorrow.

The wise—

1. Acknowledge their days belong to God, therefore, they accurately see themselves as stewards not owners of their time.

2. Live with a view to the eternal.

A great example of someone who walked wisely with his days, is Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A Restaurants. In 1946 when Truett opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia he closed the restaurant on Sundays out of his conviction that Sunday was the Lord’s Day, stating, “Closing Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.” “This practice continued even as Chick-fil-A grew rapidly. As of April 2012, Chick-fil-A had 1,614 restaurants in 39 states and is looking to future growth in the Midwest, and internationally in the Philippines, and Mexico.

No doubt there were many opportunities to have second thoughts about this decision during the early days of the restaurant. Like the sluggard who in fear shouts, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” (Proverbs 26:13) Truett Cathy could have cowered in fear of lost sales and opportunities and simply followed the practice of every other retailer. He didn’t. He acknowledged that his days belong to God and in the end wisdom was proved right. Need proof? Just head out to the food court at Monmouth Mall any day of the week, except Sunday, observe which restaurant has the longest line. By the way, while you are there I recommend the Sweet Tea!

Proverbs 27:1, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”